About 56% of respondents who identified as members of the Maga coalition said they were either having trouble meeting their debt payments or worried they would be struggling soon, according to a recent Harris poll for the Guardian. The same share admitted similar troubles meeting housing payments, while 57% said the same about affording healthcare costs, 58% about utility bills, 61% about groceries, and 63% about gas.
Policy decisions fuel financial stress
Many of these stressors stem from Trump's policy preferences. The decision to end government subsidies is largely at fault for rising health insurance costs. The rise in energy costs and rebound of inflation since March are direct consequences of Iran's throttling of the Strait of Hormuz. Resurgent inflation interrupted the Federal Reserve's campaign to ease monetary policy and halted the gradual decline in mortgage rates. Manufacturers have culled nearly 100,000 jobs since Trump took office, in part due to tariffs. Farmers have been whacked by higher costs of energy, fertilizer, and machinery.
Rural and less-educated voters feel the pinch
Rural Americans voted for Trump by a margin of 40 percentage points in November 2024. According to the Harris poll, 49% of them now say their personal financial security is getting worse, up from 42% in April 2025, a few weeks after 'liberation day' when Trump imposed tariffs on everybody. Similarly, 45% of Americans with less than a four-year college degree reported a worsening financial situation, up from 42% in April 2025.
These constituencies are at the core of the Maga movement. And they are losing patience with the justifications for Trump's destructive policies: 54% of Maga faithful think the government is most responsible for rising prices. Contrary to White House claims, 41% believe economists' observation that American consumers bear most of the costs of tariffs. Only 31% buy Trump's argument that foreigners pick up the tab.
Maga loyalty remains but doubts grow
Maga voters have not abandoned the president. By recent counts, 62% of rank-and-file Republicans identify as Maga, up from 38% in September 2022. 57% trust that the government considers the affordability crisis a top priority, and 69% believe the government is capable of fixing it. Still, misgivings are creeping in: just over a third of Maga faithful think the government has made it worse.
Broader discontent beyond the base
Beyond the growing angst among Trump's most loyal followers, what should most worry the president is the brewing discontent outside his base. The share of Republicans – Maga or not – who believe the economy is getting worse hit 38% in the latest poll, up from 33% in April 2025. The share who think it is getting better declined from 31% to 27%. Among independent voters, 44% think their financial security is deteriorating, almost three times the share who believe it is getting better.
In July, just four months before the midterm elections, these signs of voter discontent might presage a devastating Blue Wave to reconfigure Congress. Yet, for all the damage caused by Trump's policies, Americans are not convinced Democrats would do better. Among those stressed by the affordability crisis, only 26% think Democrats can fix it, just a tad more than the 25% who think Republicans can. 36% think neither is up to the task.
This leaves American politics in an ambiguous place, shaped by voters losing patience with Trump's whimsical policies but unwilling to give Democrats the benefit of the doubt. Democrats have an enormous opportunity to put forth an economic strategy that might undo some of the pain caused by the current administration.
