As winter turns to spring in 2026, American politics is experiencing a bit of economic-messaging déjà vu from the Trump administration.
Much like last year at this time, the president has leapt headlong into a major new undertaking that threatens to rock an already-wobbly economy. And much like last year, the administration is asking Americans to accept some “short-term pain” for promised long-term gain.
In 2025, it was tariffs. In 2026, it’s the war with Iran.
Combination of dumb, hateful, and self-righteous. The ratio changes but every Trump voter I’ve known is drawing from those three wells. And they tend to have poor emotional understanding and regulation, so they’re easily frightened (and being scared makes them mad).