The economy looms large in every election, but that may be even more true in the 2026 midterms. Despite high fuel prices and persistent inflation, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party can make a great case for progress. For one thing, the GOP did something no Democrat voted to do — make permanent the lower tax rates from Trump’s first term. Democrats only ever want to raise taxes. For another, big news came out this week: American household income hit a record high, and U.S. poverty hit a record low.
Here’s how The Washington Post headlined the last bit of great news: “U.S. poverty rate drops slightly, but experts fear worse ahead.” What in the world is bad news about poverty falling? “The [Census Bureau] data from 2025 did not reflect cuts to social assistance this year that experts fear will cause a rise in poverty soon.”
Federal anti-poverty programs are sometimes advertised as helping people escape poverty. The real intent, of course, is to keep them dependent on the government and the highest bidder come election time. That’s always Democrats. Hence the Post’s dour coverage.
Meanwhile, income is up. “Real median household income jumped 2.6% to $87,460 — the highest inflation-adjusted level since Census records began in 1967 and beating the previous peak reached in 2019,” reports the New York Post. “The median post-tax household income rose 3.1% to $76,060.”
America also has more millionaires than ever.
Of course, the last six years have been marred by persistent inflation — caused by Democrats in 2021. That makes it all the more frustrating that Republicans bear the brunt of the blame now, although Trump’s foolish $5,000 “dividend” idea doesn’t help.
Still, even though inflation hangs on, record-high income levels are good news, and if the GOP weren’t so incredibly inept at messaging, every Republican would be running ads for that today. President Trump should be hosting an event at the White House to celebrate.
None of that is happening.
“The economy is growing, jobs are pretty plentiful, the poverty rate hit its lowest point in modern history, so the economy is doing in many respects quite well; there’s growth, there are the things you want,” Fox News’s Brit Hume said Wednesday. “But this business with prices is just killing this administration and the president’s party.”
For Republicans, the solution isn’t to pretend that “Everything Is Awesome.” It’s to hammer home the truth that there are bright spots in the U.S. economy right now.
There’s more good news that may look and feel like bad news.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023.
“For more than five years, inflation has been running above target,” Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said at a news conference after the rate announcement. “So our predominant focus is on the price stability side of our mandate. The plain fact is that inflation is too high, and has been for too long.”
Inflation “has been a tax on the American people and businesses,” Warsh added. “We plan on getting rid of that tax.”
Predictably, President Trump isn’t a fan. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump declared that U.S. interest rates “should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR.”
Higher interest rates may tighten the housing market, and they will affect automobiles and credit cards too. But there’s reason to believe the rate increase is actually good news. Namely, aside from not printing the money to send everyone $5,000 when we’re $40 trillion in debt, the best way to fight inflation is through interest rates. Combined with the president’s new — and hopefully successful — strategy in Iran, inflation should begin to stabilize and fall in the coming months.
Warsh just showed his independence from Trump, which Democrats claim to prize, and he proved that he is an inflation hawk, which the nation desperately needs.
As The Wall Street Journal editorial board summed up, “Mr. Trump inherited stubborn inflation from Joe Biden, and the Powell Fed let it stay too high for too long. Kevin Warsh seems determined to get it down faster, and that will mean faster real wage gains sooner for the American people.”
In short, there’s reason for Ronald Reagan-like optimism. “America’s best days are yet to come,” Reagan said. “Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.”
