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Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal - OPINION: THE 2026 MIDTERMS ARE ALREADY ABOUT ONE THING... AFFORDABILITY
Trump's Mt. Pocono rally today officially launched the 2026 midterm cycle with both parties finally agreeing on the central issue: affordability.
The president's admission that he "can't call affordability a hoax because prices were too high" marks a rare moment of bipartisan consensus.
Democrats running on kitchen-table economics just won Miami's mayoralty for the first time in 30 years.
Republicans defending Tennessee's 7th district saw their margin shrink from 22 points to 9 when Democrat Aftyn Behn focused exclusively on cost of living.
The message is clear: whoever solves affordability wins 2026.
The structural challenge facing Republicans mirrors what every incumbent party has faced for 20 years.
Trump's 41% approval rating matches exactly where his five predecessors stood at this point.
The party in power has lost every midterm since 2006, averaging 26 House seats.
This isn't about Trump specifically; it's about voter psychology.
Americans gave Republicans unified control to fix inflation that peaked at 9.1% under Biden.
With prices still up 25% on groceries and 47% on housing since 2020, patience is already wearing thin.
Democrats smell opportunity but face their own credibility problem.
They presided over the worst inflation in 40 years, and voters haven't forgotten.
Their sudden conversion to affordability evangelists rings hollow when Biden spent four years insisting the economy was strong while families struggled.
The party's challenge is explaining why they should be trusted on an issue where their recent record is flat out disastrous.