The MAGA base rallied on inflation and racial grievances, but stressing race over the economy is costing the US president

Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign strategy leaned heavily on two sources of grievance among the Maga base. The first was the rising cost of living, propelled by the sharp burst of inflation that peaked at 9% a year in July 2022. Though inflation had receded to 2.7% by election day, frustration over prices convinced many voters that Trump would be a superior steward of the economy. The other theme was race.

The strategy won the presidency. Then, Trump made a mistake: focusing relentlessly on hostility towards immigrants and the diverse citizens of urban America, the president pretty much ignored – nay, worsened – his supporters’ economic woes. In elections earlier this month, US economic grievances came back to bite him. Pummeled by voters, Trump is now trying to recover his economic narrative. But it may be too late.

Trump seems not only to have forgotten his promises on the economy, he also appears to enjoy stoking Americans’ economic anxieties. His array of tariffs against friend and foe has slowed the economy, stalling employment growth while it raises the prices of key necessities. His decision to end subsidies for health insurance plans under Obamacare will drastically raise premiums for millions of Americans. And there is probably no better strategy than ending Snap food assistance payments – as he did during the government shutdown–to deepen the economic misery of the poor.