Trump Revives Grievance Politics to Rally His Base for Midterms

WHO:

Alternet - Frank Luntz said “Gen X and elder Millennials” were “in shambles,” responding to a post about potentially expanding Trump Accounts to people under 40.

Alternet - Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said Trump Accounts could be expanded to roughly 100 million additional people under 40, on top of 70 million children and 3.5 million babies born each year; Brad Gerstner was spearheading the effort.

Alternet - Former Trump voter Zachary, a 25-year-old scientist from Missouri, told The New York Times, “The United States is not what it once was, and we can’t seem to drive costs down for the average American.”

Alternet - Caleb, a 24-year-old Maine management consultant, told The New York Times that people working “60-plus hours a week in a trade” could not make a dent in the cost of living.

Alternet - Justin Wolfers, a Brookings and Peterson Institute non-resident senior fellow and University of Michigan professor, said Americans’ confidence in government economic management had reached a record-low reading.

Alternet - Michael Warren, politics editor at The Dispatch, reported that MAGA insiders doubt Trump’s rally strategy still works; one veteran Republican operative said, “We’re f——. I don’t think rallies work anymore.”

Alternet - Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, has studied why poor and working-class voters continue to support Trump; her books include *Strangers in Their Own Land* and *Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right*.

Alternet - Hochschild said some voters told her, “I know he’s a liar and a bully, but he’s good for us. Nobody else is here for us. Trump is our bully.”

Alternet - Hochschild described eastern Kentucky residents as people who had previously supported New Deal Democrats and said some people there had voted for Clinton.

CNN - Trump is campaigning for Republican candidates; the article says he is trying to mobilize conservative voters and help vulnerable Republicans.

CNN - Trump targeted Democratic Senate candidates Adam Hamilton and Abdul El-Sayed, Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, and GOP Sen. Roger Marshall.

CNN - Mark Sanford, a Republican and former governor of South Carolina, said voters he spoke with were concerned about the economy, affordability, and inflation.

WHAT:

Alternet - Arlie Hochschild said residents she spoke with in Appalachia did not necessarily think Trump was “wonderful”; some were depressed, and she described a retreat into “depressive withdrawal” rather than switching their political support.

Alternet - Hochschild said Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District is the country’s second-poorest and whitest congressional district.

CNN - Trump invoked the possibility that artificial intelligence could wipe out jobs and even humanity while arguing that White Christian culture was under threat.

CNN - Trump said Somali-born Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was from a “shithouse” country and questioned her entitlement to constitutional rights.

FactCheck.org - The number of unfilled job openings fell by 352,000, or 4.7%, under Trump; the report counted 7.11 million unemployed job-seekers and 7.08 million job openings.

FactCheck.org - The trade deficit for the 12 months ending in August was $793.8 billion, 10.4% below 2024’s $885.5 billion, but the deficit exceeded $100 billion in August.

FactCheck.org - Average crude oil production over the 12 months through July was more than 13.8 million barrels per day, about 4.1% above the 2024 average; crude oil imports averaged more than 6.2 million barrels per day, down about 5.5% from 2024.

FactCheck.org - U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from coal, natural gas and petroleum use rose 1.5% from 2024 in the 12 months ending in June.

FactCheck.org - The unemployment rate rose from 4.0% in January 2025 to 4.2% in September 2026; the labor-force participation rate fell from 62.6% to 61.8%.

FactCheck.org - Manufacturing employment recorded a net loss of 21,000 jobs over Trump’s first 20 months in office, despite adding 72,000 jobs during 2026.

FactCheck.org - Real weekly earnings increased 0.94% over Trump’s first 20 months, but fell 0.87% after the first 12 months.

FactCheck.org - The University of Michigan’s October consumer-sentiment index was 46.3, compared with 71.7 in January 2025.

FactCheck.org - The median existing single-family home price in September was $422,700, up 6.2% from January 2025; the 30-year mortgage rate was 7.40% as of Oct. 15.

FactCheck.org - The U.S. admitted 16,292 refugees in fiscal year 2026; nearly 99% of refugees admitted during Trump’s first full 20 months in office were from South Africa.

FactCheck.org - The Congressional Budget Office projected the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would increase the number of uninsured people by 1.3 million in 2026 and 5.2 million in 2027.

FactCheck.org - After-tax corporate profits reached an annualized $4.28 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, up 8.4% from the previous quarter.

FactCheck.org - The FBI’s estimated 2025 murder rate was 4.1 per 100,000 people, matching its 1955 and 1956 figures.

Alternet - Wolfers said the share of Americans rating the government’s economic-policy performance poor rather than good rose from a net 14 percentage points in late 2024 to 66 points in May 2026, exceeding the previous record of 52 points during the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis.

Alternet - Wolfers said Trump-family favoritism can distort market competition by incentivizing businesses to seek the president’s favor rather than compete on prices or product quality.

FactCheck.org - The report says 776,000 jobs were added between January 2025 and September 2026, while federal employment fell by 328,000, or 10.9%; average monthly job growth was 39,000.

FactCheck.org - Consumer prices rose 5.4% over Trump’s first 20 months in office; gasoline prices reached $4.28 a gallon, 38% above the level when he took office, and diesel reached $6.28 a gallon, 69% higher.

FactCheck.org - Real GDP grew at an annualized 2.2% in the second quarter of 2026. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model projected 3.5% growth for the third quarter; the BEA scheduled its estimate for Oct. 29.

FactCheck.org - The report says 36.4 million people received SNAP benefits in June, down more than 6 million, or 14.3%, from January 2025.

FactCheck.org - Median household income was $87,460 in 2025, up 2.6% from 2024; the official poverty rate fell from 10.7% to 10.2%.

FactCheck.org - The S&P 500 closed at 7,712.57 on Oct. 20, up 28.6% from Jan. 17, 2025; the Nasdaq rose 34.6% and the Dow 20.7% over that period.

FactCheck.org - The FBI reported that the 2025 violent-crime rate fell 9.7% and the murder rate fell 18.5% from 2024, the largest one-year decreases since nationwide FBI data collection began in 1936.

FactCheck.org - Publicly held federal debt exceeded $32.5 trillion, up about 12.8% since Trump began his second term; the fiscal-year 2026 deficit was nearly $2 trillion.

Alternet - Warren said Trump’s rally attendance and impact had declined, and that Republicans worry his endorsements of “subpar” candidates and lack of party-building over the previous two years have weakened their prospects.

Alternet - Warren said Trump’s midterm campaign had largely relied on fly-in rallies in red states rather than phone banking, door-knocking, and building campaign infrastructure.

Alternet - At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, Trump said, “The oil is going to get down to where I had it. I had it down to $1.85 a gallon, and I’ll have it down to that number.”

Alternet - Hochschild said that in the last three elections, Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District shifted right; among voters, Trump received 80% and Harris 20%.

Alternet - Hochschild said community gathering places such as Rotary Club meetings and small shops had declined as Amazon and Home Depot undercut them, leaving many dollar stores and gas stations but few social venues.

CNN - Trump accused Hamilton of telling people to “repent because you were born White”; CNN said this misrepresented Hamilton’s broader remarks about race, self-reflection, and personal faith.

CNN - Trump mocked Hamilton’s religious credentials, saying, “He doesn’t act like a pastor because his views aren’t of a pastor,” and claimed an unnamed Texas religious leader predicted Trump would lead Christians through a period “nobody else can do.”

CNN - Vice President JD Vance joked that a protester at one of his events must have crossed the border illegally to behave that way.

Alternet - A Reuters/Ipsos poll put Trump’s approval rating at 31%, described as a record low. Analysts and pollsters predicted Republicans could lose the House and possibly the Senate.

Alternet - Hochschild said Trump’s appeal rests on “emotional capture”: recognizing voters’ losses, telling a story of “stolen pride,” promising retribution, and presenting himself as a target of critics’ shaming.

Alternet - Hochschild said coal jobs and other well-paying jobs had not returned, Trump had not substantively addressed the opioid crisis, and cuts in the “Big Beautiful Bill” had reduced food stamps.

Alternet - Hochschild described a respectful community discussion in Pike County in which residents debated food stamps, work requirements, caregiving, and local wages of $8 or $9 an hour.

CNN - Trump warned that White Christian culture and American civilization were at risk, saying, “we will protect our civilization, we will preserve our religion, our values and our heritage.”

CNN - Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and “Mohammed,” and used the antisemitic slur “Shylock” while defending Marshall.

CNN - Trump claimed children could undergo gender-transition procedures at school without parental consent, including, “Your son leaves as Jimmy and comes back home in three days as Janet.”

CNN - Trump repeated a claim that a Democratic Congress would bring widespread gender transitions of children and warned that unrest in France could spread to the United States.

CNN - Sanford said transgender-related claims were “off-topic” for voters focused on economic issues.

WHERE:

Alternet - Hochschild researched Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District, including Pike County, and discussed rural Appalachia and West Virginia.

CNN - Trump made campaign remarks in Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Georgia.

WHEN:

FactCheck.org - Trump set a refugee-admissions cap of 17,500 for fiscal year 2027.

FactCheck.org - The Conference Board’s October consumer-confidence report is scheduled for release on Oct. 27; existing-home sales and prices for October are scheduled for Nov. 12.

FactCheck.org - The BEA scheduled the third-quarter 2026 corporate-profits estimate for Nov. 25.

Alternet - Warren said Republicans were beginning to consider what their message would be “on November 4 and in the months and years to come.”

WHY:

Alternet - Wolfers attributed Americans’ pessimism to distrust of the people managing the economy, not simply to economic indicators.

CNN - The article said White House strategists did not send Trump to swing states with the tightest races because his inflammatory comments could alienate moderate voters.

Alternet - Hochschild said Democrats should build alliances and address local problems, and warned that dividing rural and urban voters and people with different education levels benefits Trump.

Alternet - Hochschild said economic decline, lost coal jobs, opioid use, diminished community life, and wounded dignity helped create support for Trump.

CNN - The article says Trump’s rhetoric seeks to distract from affordability and foreign-policy concerns and increase turnout among conservative voters.

HOW:

FactCheck.org - Border Patrol apprehensions over the 12 months ending in August were down nearly 91% from the final 12 months of the Biden administration; Customs and Border Protection reported 8,870 apprehensions in August.

FactCheck.org - The Trump administration’s executive order suspended refugee admissions; an exemption prioritized Afrikaners from South Africa.

Alternet - Hochschild said Trump directs resentment toward immigrants, the press, and government workers, while encouraging division between groups.

CNN - Trump used racial, religious, and cultural rhetoric, including claims about immigrants, Muslim Americans, and transgender people, during a campaign swing through Republican-leaning states.

(UPDATED October 22, 2026 04:09 UTC)

President Trump is campaigning for Republicans, but some party insiders question whether his rallies and endorsements can still help vulnerable candidates. He has attacked Democratic Senate candidates and Representative Ilhan Omar, while also warning that artificial intelligence could threaten jobs and humanity. Omar faced a racist insult and questions about her constitutional rights. Economic concerns are central: a Republican former governor said voters he spoke with worry about affordability and inflation, and consumer confidence in government’s economic management has reached a record low. Fact-checking figures paint a mixed picture, with jobs and corporate profits increasing, but unemployment and consumer prices also rising. Housing remains costly, and the federal deficit is nearly $2 trillion. Researcher Arlie Hochschild says some working-class Trump supporters feel abandoned by other politicians, even when they are unhappy with him. She describes some as withdrawing rather than changing their allegiance.

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(UPDATED October 22, 2026 01:21 UTC)

President Trump is campaigning for vulnerable Republicans, but concerns about the economy and his party’s strategy are growing. A Reuters/Ipsos poll put his approval at 31%, while political editor Michael Warren said MAGA insiders doubt rallies can still mobilize voters. He also said Trump has leaned on fly-in events instead of building campaign operations, and that some Republicans worry about his endorsements.

Economic figures present a mixed picture. Since Trump began his second term, unemployment rose to 4.2%, consumer prices increased 5.4%, and the average monthly job gain was 39,000. Yet household income rose, poverty fell, and the stock market climbed. Consumer sentiment dropped sharply, while confidence in government economic management reached a record low.

Trump has promised to bring gasoline back to $1.85 a gallon. Researchers say some working-class supporters remain loyal because they feel no one else represents them, even as many struggle with the cost of living.

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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 19:15 UTC)

President Trump is campaigning for Republicans with rallies that target Democratic candidates and emphasize cultural and religious threats, while some party insiders question whether the strategy still works. Michael Warren says rally attendance and impact have declined, and Republicans worry Trump has not built campaign infrastructure or strengthened the party. His remarks have included false claims about gender transitions at schools, attacks on candidates, and an antisemitic slur. Researchers say economic hardship and wounded community pride help explain Trump’s support in rural Appalachia, where residents describe lost jobs, opioid problems, and fewer gathering places. Voters also worry about affordability and inflation. Economic indicators are mixed: prices and federal debt have risen, but household income increased, poverty fell, and violent crime declined. Job growth has been modest, while federal employment has dropped. Trump’s approval rating was reported at a record low, and analysts see risks for Republicans in the midterms.

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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 18:13 UTC)

President Trump is campaigning across Republican-leaning states, seeking to boost vulnerable candidates and turn out conservative voters, but some Republicans question whether his rally strategy is working. Politics editor Michael Warren says attendance and impact have declined, and the campaign has relied on rallies rather than building local operations. A Reuters/Ipsos poll puts Trump’s approval at 31%, while analysts warn Republicans could lose the House and possibly the Senate. On the trail, Trump has attacked Democratic candidates with racial and religious rhetoric, made misleading claims about their remarks, and repeated claims about gender transitions at schools. He has also promised lower gasoline prices and warned that White Christian culture is under threat. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild says Trump retains support among struggling rural voters by recognizing their losses and wounded pride, even as coal jobs and community gathering places have disappeared.

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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 14:06 UTC)

Trump attacked Hamilton’s religious credentials, falsely portraying his comments on race, self-reflection and faith as telling people to repent for being born White, while also claiming an unnamed Texas religious leader said Trump would lead Christians through a challenge no one else could handle. Vice President JD Vance joked that a protester at one of his events must have crossed the border illegally, and the report said White House strategists kept Trump away from the closest swing-state races because his inflammatory remarks could alienate moderate voters. Hochschild said Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District had shifted right in the last three elections, with Trump winning 80 percent of voters to Harris’s 20 percent, as local gathering places declined; she urged Democrats to build alliances and address community problems rather than deepen rural-urban and education divides.

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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 12:03 UTC)

President Trump is campaigning for vulnerable Republicans, using warnings about White Christian culture, immigrants and transgender people to rally conservative voters, while also attacking Democratic candidates with inflammatory language. His approval rating stands at 31%, a record low, and Republican analysts and pollsters warn the party could lose the House and possibly the Senate as voters focus on affordability and inflation. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild says Trump’s appeal among working-class voters reflects economic decline, lost jobs and wounded community pride, even as residents she met in eastern Kentucky discussed low wages, food assistance and caregiving.