Although Donald Trump largely ignored it, voters’ acute concerns over the rising cost of living fuelled a political upheaval for the ages that is likely to deliver the biggest swing toward Democrats since Watergate, granting them the largest House majority in nearly four decades alongside their biggest edge in the Senate since 2008.
asserted
that → ignore → 2008
Still, having come to power promising to restore affordability, the new crop of Democrats are soon to discover that there is not much they can do over the next couple of years to alleviate angry voters’ stress over pricey gas and groceries, exorbitant mortgages and unaffordable healthcare.
asserted
they → come → gas
Democrats would do well to recall that the affordability strains that helped deliver them to power are not dissimilar to those that delivered the presidency to Trump two years ago.
asserted
that → do → Trump
And they could again quickly become their enemy.
uncertain
they → become → ?
“First, Americans want Washington to bring down the cost of living,” said Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader-in-waiting.
asserted
Schumer → want → waiting
Likely House speaker Hakeem Jeffries added that “we’ve promised to fight for an affordable America, and that’s exactly what we will do”.
asserted
we → add → what
They will soon discover the limits to their power to undo Trump’s economic blunders and steer an economy that is largely driven by forces outside their control.
asserted
that → discover → control
Reining them in will require reaching an understanding with Iran that reopens the strait of Hormuz.
asserted
that → rein → Hormuz
Schumer thinks Democrats can achieve that.
asserted
Democrats → think → that
“We are going to end the war,” he said.
asserted
he → go → war
Trump may disagree, however.
uncertain
Trump → disagree → ?
And while it is true that Congress is legally entitled to end wars – it is the only branch of government entitled to start one – it is unclear what such legal niceties might mean in practice.
uncertain
niceties → entitle → practice
Republicans have controlled Congress since Trump went to war.
asserted
Trump → control → war
Still, he has pursued it without asking for their approval.
asserted
he → pursue → approval
Democrats could now try to cut war funding, but they do not have the requisite 60 Senate votes
uncertain
they → try → votes
Trump’s trade war has similar characteristics.
asserted
war → have → characteristics
When the supreme court struck down Trump’s “national security” tariffs because they exceeded presidential authority, the administration reimposed many of them under a different statute, deploying a new, also spurious rationale.
asserted
administration → strike → rationale
There is also little that Democrats can do to stop Trump’s war on immigration.
asserted
Democrats → be → immigration
It is fully funded and can carry on unimpeded, further disrupting construction and other immigrant-reliant industries.
asserted
It → fund → construction
Even the low-hanging fruit hangs rather high.
asserted
fruit → hang → ?
While it may seem easy to reinstate federal subsidies for health insurance programs under the Affordable Care Act, or undo or postpone cuts to Medicaid and food stamps in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Democrats will be hard-pressed to find the money, given a budget deficit that is already running at a whopping 6% of the nation’s gross domestic product.
uncertain
that → seem → product
Just preventing further damage will be an uphill battle.
asserted
preventing → prevent → damage
A lame duck Trump who no longer feels the need to please voters is likely to give free rein to his most destructive urges.
asserted
who → feel → urges
While Democrats will be able to block Trump’s new legislative proposals, they don’t have the votes to overcome presidential vetoes.
asserted
they → block → vetoes
Optimists may believe that after Tuesday’s shellacking, sufficient Republicans in Congress could be convinced to buck their president’s wishes.
uncertain
Republicans → believe → wishes
But most of those who survived the bloodbath come from the most faithful Maga districts and states and are the least likely to abandon their leader.
asserted
who → survive → leader
The economy itself – driven almost exclusively by a frenzied artificial intelligence investment boom – is unlikely to help Democrats achieve their goal of easing voters’ economic strains.
asserted
Democrats → drive → strains
Wall Street is already doubting that the massive investments to build data-processing centers to train powerful AI models will pay off in time to justify the money.
asserted
investments → doubt → money
The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index has fallen by more than 10% in the last month.
asserted
index → fall → month
Goldman Sachs estimates that the large AI hyperscalers have raised almost $200bn in bond markets so far this year, almost twice as much as in all of 2025.
asserted
hyperscalers → estimate → 2025
Altogether, the bank added, AI-related firms have raised nearly $500bn in debt so far in 2026.
asserted
firms → add → 2026
Were this bubble to pop and the funding to stop, it would likely deliver an economic downfall to beat even the Great Recession sparked by the housing bubble in 2008.
asserted
it → pop → 2008
When the time comes, a government hamstrung by $40tn in debt and interest rates hovering near 20-year highs will have little fiscal space to soften the blow.
asserted
government → come → blow
Can voters’ newfound love for Democrats survive the likely turbulence ahead?
asserted
love → survive → turbulence
Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan who runs Platypus Economics, observes that neither the unemployment rate nor inflation are bad enough to justify Americans’ extreme pessimism about the economy.
asserted
rate → run → economy
So what’s driving the sour mood?
asserted
what → drive → mood
Tuesday’s Republican bloodbath might, on its own, improve Americans’ spirits.
uncertain
bloodbath → improve → spirits
Limited though their powers may be, Democrats will at least offer some resistance to Trump’s most destructive impulses.
uncertain
Democrats → offer → impulses
But the economy will likely pose a greater challenge for the new Democratic Congress than it has to the Republicans currently in charge.
asserted
it → pose → charge
In two years’ time, Democrats might be facing anger over an economic scenario that has gotten palpably worse.
uncertain
that → face → scenario
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
