UPDATE September 27, 2026:
This week, Trump’s disapproval rating hit 60.5%, the worst mark of his two terms in office, including the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots.
- Gas prices rose to $4.49 a gallon, diesel has hit $6.50 and no relief is in sight.
- Seven months in, the U.S. is locked in a standoff with Iran with no apparent exit strategy.
- Grocery prices are still rising year over year. Mortgage rates hit 7%, and the cost of borrowing across the economy continues to climb.
TRUMP HELPS THE DEMS
The New York Times guest essay (8/18/26) by Steve Ratner, an economist, is worth reading. Here is a brief summary of Trump’s broken promises that Steve Ratner documents:
What Trump said would happen…. and what did happen:
The economy will grow…No, it is slowing.
He promised to balance the budget…No, the deficit is huge and growing thanks to the tax cuts that mostly helped the rich.
He was going to end our national debt….No, it’s now at 40 trillion which means it is about to break the WWII record.
Manufacturing jobs would boom…No, manufacturing jobs have stalled out.
There would be tariff refunds for Americans….No, the refunds are going to companies not consumers.
(Ratner doesn’t even mention that Trump said tariffs would be great for the American consumer. They are not. They act as taxes on American consumers.)
He would end inflation…No, inflation just overcame the rise in take home pay.
Gas would be under $2 a gallon…No, gas is over $4/gal with diesel the highest it has ever been at $6.44/gal.
Home costs would come down….That did not happen.
Mortgage rates would go down to 3%…No, they are at 7% and stuck there or going higher.
He would not be cutting Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security…No, Medicaid cuts are the highest ever and with the massive spending going on by our government, cuts to the social safety net are coming.
Health care costs will come down…No, health insurance has jumped 26% in one year.
I hope you will read Steve Ratner’s article and look at his charts to understand how much Trump has failed to deliver.
THE IRAN WAR
Steve Ratner doesn’t even mention the Iran War (or the Epstein File information coverup). But we need to go there. Trump promised there would be no more wars in the Middle East. We all know how that promise turned out. Trump trusted his gut and apparently also Pete Hegseth instead of many other advisors who warned him about the Strait of Hormuz. Now we are at war with Iran and Trump is unable to back down because he is constitutionally incapable of doing that.
That has driven up the prices of oil and gas. Diesel fuel just hit an all-time high for September which matters because trucks and farm equipment all run on diesel which raises the prices of almost everything we eat or buy. Grocery expenses are keeping Americans from buying medications they need, making repairs on their homes, going on vacation, affording a new home, buying a car and more. People don’t like to experience a downward trajectory in their lifestyles. They want to feel they are doing better and better in life and that their kids will do even better than they did. Trump’s bad judgement is causing many to turn against Trump.
Do Americans blame President Trump for high gas prices? | Watch
As gas prices go up, Trump’s approvals go down and the chances for the Dems to win both the House and Senate go up. It seems like simple math. Right? Not so fast…
DIRTY TRICKS AFOOT
You might think that that means Democrats would be a shoe in to win the House and Senate. But the MAGAs have been hard at work rigging the system and they have gotten pretty far along with their un-American project.
Remember the midcycle gerrymandering Trump pulled off? It kind of backfired a bit when California and other blue states answered the Republican gerrymandering with gerrymanders of their own, but the Republicans still ended up with something like a 10 to 12 seat advantage from their midcycle gerrymanders.
Midcycle gerrymandering was just the start of the dirty tricks that Trump and his MAGA allies have been working on. So many!
- Disinformation and chaos: Spreading false claims about election integrity to justify federal takeover of elections, and creating confusion—especially around mail‑in voting—to deter participation Center for American Progress+1.
- Restricting mail‑in ballots: Issuing executive orders directing the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver ballots to voters on federal “pre‑approved” lists, and pushing to end mail voting entirely. Courts have blocked some parts of this plan, but the administration continues to try to implement it Mother Jones+1. (Now that the Supreme Court has said no to this dirty trick, we can hope the post office will comply with the court’s ruling.)
- Gerrymandering pressure: Pressuring states, such as Texas, to adopt mid‑decade redistricting plans that would add Republican seats in the U.S. House The New Republic+1.
- Limiting voting access: Pressuring Congress to pass voter suppression laws, curtailing voting by mail, stopping states from using certain voting equipment, and issuing executive orders to restrict voting Center for American Progress+1.
- Federal interference: Using DOJ, DHS, and other agencies to intimidate election officials, seizing voting equipment, and in extreme scenarios, deploying the military or federal agents to interfere with elections Center for American Progress+1.
- Emergency powers threats: Declaring national emergencies to take over or postpone elections, and leveraging “emergency powers” to block or alter state election processes
This list doesn’t even include one of the most dangerous threats, namely, failure of red states to certify elections of Democrats who win in their state based on bogus allegations of fraud or other false contentions or challenges.
Are these the actions of an administration that knows it is popular with the majority of Americans? What do you think?
GOOD NEWS FOR THE DEMS IN TRUSTED POLLS
Forbes Reports that Democrats’ chances of winning control of the House have increased in recent weeks, according to multiple polls and trackers, as President Donald Trump’s low approval rating and persistent economic concerns are widely viewed to be dragging down his party.
In a New York Times/Siena University poll released earlier this week, 51% said they would vote for the Democratic congressional candidate running in their district, 43% said they would vote for the Republican and 6% said they didn’t know.
The poll found voters trust Democrats over Republicans to handle all but one issue, artificial intelligence, of eight total, including immigration, the economy and health care.
A Marquette Law School poll released earlier this week also found Democrats have surged ahead on the generic congressional ballot—they’re up 13 points among likely voters and by eight points among registered voters, an increase from six points and two points, respectively, in the school’s July poll (the latest survey of 1,023 adults was taken Sept. 2-9 and has a margin of error of 3.3).
Meanwhile, multiple polling averages have shown Democrats widening their lead on the generic congressional ballot question in recent weeks.
Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin shows Democrats are favored by 7.9 points as of Friday, 49.5% to 41.6%, up from 6.7 points, 48.3% to 41.6%, as of Sept. 1.
Democrats are ahead 8.6 points, 50.5% to 41.9%, in Real Clear Politics’ polling average, an increase of 2.9 points since Sept. 1.
TRUMP IS LOSING IT
This election will be a “change election” where the American people do what they can to undo what they did in 2024. But as Trump continues to lose power and mental capacity, feels cornered and derided, he becomes more dangerous and willing to do outrageous things not only to distract but to assert power over others to show he is the boss of everything. So there! I told you so!
He just banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. And he declared that the Arch de Trumph will be a military asset “to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.” Whaaa?? I am not kidding. I wish I were. More evidence that Trump is losing it.
WILL MONEY RULE?
The Dems might be up in the polls, and this might be a “change election” on paper, but the MAGA Republican Party is supported by the ultra-wealthy and a corrupt, rightwing Supreme Court that wants the corporate world to be able to act in an unfettered, unrestricted way. The rationale is that we must beat China in the race for AI and other innovations. That concern has some truth to it especially in a world that Trump has infused with divisiveness and rancor. But the way this administration carries out its goals is often too extreme, careless and lacks reliance on professionals who have studied these problems and have cautionary tales to tell.
The RNC has tons of money they will pour into these House races. Democrats don’t have that kind of money. That’s why Democratic voters are getting thousands of texts and calls from candidates begging for support.
Trump is sitting on a war chest of $404 million dollars he plans to deploy to help Republicans shape their messages and attack Democrats.
Republicans have much more money to throw at these races.
Will big bucks win the day for Republicans?
Money doesn’t always win elections anymore. It can do the opposite if voters feel they are being bought by an outsider. Elon Musk learned that in Wisconsin when he tried to buy the election of a right-wing state supreme court justice and failed. Ad buys for the Dems helped to turn Musk’s investment toxic in the minds of Wisconsin voters.
Dirty tricks may also backfire on the MAGAs.
When Americans are told they cannot vote, they get more determined to vote than ever. Voters don’t like to have their trusted elected officials taken away from them by getting gerrymandered out of contention. Voters don’t like to live in a country that is becoming a third world country either. There is a huge enthusiasm gap between most Democrats and most Republicans even now, 6 weeks out from the midterm elections. We will see Democrats, including in those Republican gerrymandered districts, crawl over hot coals to get to the polls to vote. We will see Trump’s own voters decide to stay home instead of bothering to go to the polls for a man and a party that lied to them in so many ways.
AMERICANS WHO WANT CHANGE SHOULD NOT COUNT ANY CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH
Get active! Now is the time.
Help to surge the vote in key districts that will affect the majority in the House.
Help candidates you believe in by canvassing (door knocking) for them.
Go to their websites to find out how to volunteer to help them win.
AND VOTE EARLY! TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE EARLY.
The parties know who their voters are and they track who has already voted. If you have voted you are off their list of people that they will spend energy and money to urge to get to the polls. Like herding cats. Given the shenanigans the MAGAs are going to engage in to suppress, limit and challenge the vote if Democrats win in a district especially one that had been a Trump district in 2024, it’s a really good idea to bank your vote early.