President Donald Trump won in 2024 largely by arguing that he—unlike the Democrats—was focused on people’s economic insecurities. While Democrats debated Gaza, transgender rights, abortion, and democracy itself, Trump’s message centered largely on economic security.

Trump had no actual policy platform to lower prices “on Day 1,” but that didn’t matter to a lot of voters. They simply wanted to be seen. While Democrats (me included) pointed to improving jobs and economic numbers, many Americans weren’t feeling good about their own finances—and at least someone acknowledged their pain.

That message was so powerful that 46% of Latino voters backed Trump despite his explicitly racist rhetoric. A person’s concerns about bigotry and democracy are almost always outweighed by their worries about

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