Democrats have settled on a familiar refrain as President Donald Trump’s second term unfolds: “affordability,” they tell us, is sinking his presidency.

Prices are cited, anxieties are invoked, and voters are warned that economic pressure will decide the November midterm elections. The problem with their argument is not merely that it is exaggerated. It is that Democratic voters themselves consistently reveal that their top concern is not affordability. It is a blind and raging opposition to Trump.

That reality is unmistakable in polling.

In an October survey of likely Georgia Democratic primary voters conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the single most important issue was “standing up to Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans,” cited by 20 percent of respondents. Inflation and the cost of living ranked second at 17 percent, while the economy and jobs ranked third at 15 percent.

Pocketbook concerns mattered, but resistance to Trump mattered more.

This poll was not an outlier. A May Weidenbaum Center survey found Democrats naming Donald Trump as the country’s top problem at nearly twice the rate of inflation and three times the rate of the economy.

In August, YouGov data was analyzed by Good Authority, a nonprofit that translates political science research into accessible analysis to inform the public. It was discovered that almost one-third of Democrats prioritize civil rights and liberties above all economic issues combined, reflecting a sharp rise since before the 2024 election.

The pattern continued into the fall. A September Pew Research Center survey found that 41 percent of frustrated Democrats said their party was not pushing back hard enough against the Trump administration. His handling of the economy did not dominate their dissatisfaction.

An October 2025 CNN poll reinforced the divide.

Forty-five percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents ranked the state of “U.S. democracy” as the top issue, compared with 38 percent citing the economy and cost of living. Voters motivated by democracy concerns were also significantly more energized to vote.

NBC News polling from the same month showed that protecting democracy and constitutional rights ranked first, among voters of all partisan backgrounds, at 25 percent. Cost of living followed at a distant 16 percent.

These findings expose a contradiction. Democratic voters, despite what their leadership would have you believe, are more concerned with these institutional issues than with affordability.

Affordability, for blue politicos, functions less as a conviction and more as a rhetorical tool, deployed when useful, ignored when not.

Republican voters tell a very different story.

Among the GOP base, Trump’s economic stewardship is not just defended, it is strongly endorsed. A December Fox News poll showed Republican satisfaction with the economy jumping by 53 points from the previous year, even as views remained mixed across the political spectrum. An AP-NORC poll that same month found that 69 percent of Republicans approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, compared with just 31 percent among all voters.

Another December poll, from NPR-Marist, reported that 74 percent of Republicans were optimistic about the economic outlook for 2026. Just 18 percent said their personal finances had worsened. Gallup’s end-of-year data was even more decisive, with 89 percent of Republicans approving of Trump’s overall job performance and reflecting deep satisfaction with his leadership, particularly on economic matters.

That confidence is not abstract. It is rooted in concrete outcomes delivered in just one year.

Gas prices fell to their lowest level in nearly half a decade, dropping below $3 per gallon in 43 states and below $2 in 19 states. The Trump administration presided over the creation of 654,000 private-sector jobs, with 100 percent of net job growth going to native-born Americans. Real gross domestic product (GDP) surged 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025, exceeding expectations.

Blue-collar wage growth reached its strongest level in nearly 60 years, while private-sector real earnings rose by $1,100 annually, offsetting losses incurred under the Biden-Harris administration. Inflation has fallen to 2.4 percent since Trump took office, roughly 70 percent below its prior peak under Democratic rule.

Mortgage rates hit their lowest level in three years, existing home sales reached a three-year high, and rent growth slowed to its lowest pace since 2021. Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cut, the largest middle-class tax relief package in modern history, while delivering on his promise of no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security.

These achievements help explain why Republican voters remain unified and confident. They see policy alignment, measurable progress, and an administration focused on working Americans rather than ideological theater.

Democrats, by contrast, are willfully trapped in a politics defined almost entirely by manufactured resentment.

Affordability is invoked not because it dominates the Democratic base’s priorities, but because it offers a socially acceptable proxy for bestial animus toward Trump and, far more importantly, his voters. The data shows that what truly animates Democratic voters is not prices, but power, and specifically the frustration that Trump stands in the way of them reclaiming it.

The Democrats do not have an appreciable economic argument for November. They have a rage-driven political one. We can hope that enough voters will be able to tell the difference.