The Washington Post also disapproves of Trump’s victim blaming. Here are some excerpts from yesterday’s editorial.
The Democratic romp in this week’s off-year elections highlighted voters’ persistent frustration about inflation and the cost of living. The White House has taken note. Unfortunately, its first reflex is the same as that of the Biden-Harris administration: Blame corporate price gouging. …Trump’s abrupt public declaration suggests he’s casting about for a political answer to cost-of-living concerns after Tuesday’s political rebuke. …The Biden administration contributed to inflation with regulation and massive economic stimulus. Democrats tried to address their political problem by blasting corporations for raising prices. Biden specifically called out meatpackers in his 2022 State of the Union. Later in his term, he attacked grocery stores. Vice President Kamala Harris ran on imposing the “first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food.” If the Biden administration wanted to deal with inflation, it should have controlled spending and eased regulations. But that would have been politically difficult. Blaming price-fixing is easy. It’s the same story with Trump: His tariffs are raising prices on imported goods. Meanwhile, he’s trying to take control of the Federal Reserve while demanding it cut interest rates.
Almost makes you wonder if Trump and Biden were separated at birth?
I’ll close by regurgitating a point I made about Biden, which is that voters care a lot about whether their inflation-adjusted disposable income is going up or down. Republicans will deserve what happens to them in 2026 and 2028 if they don’t heed that lesson.
