Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in better times
A few months ago, we noted that Democrats are running on “affordability” for the 2026 midterm elections. That choice looks smarter by the week. But affordability is only part of the story, because the same Republican recklessness driving prices higher also demonstrates an administration that keeps breaking the law and breaking things.
First, Donald Trump‘s global tariffs have raised costs on everyday goods from food to cars to washing machines. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that Trump had no legal authority to impose the tariffs. Yet Trump just slapped new 50% tariffs on Canada because of smoke from that country’s fires. Moreover, the tariffs were never really “reciprocal” as Trump claimed. Rather than matching the actual tariffs other countries charge on American goods, Trump falsely used a formula based on the U.S. trade deficit with each country. It’s a tax hike on Americans built on phony numbers, that was also illegal.
Trump’s Iran War follows a similar path. The war has pushed the national average price for Regular gasoline back above $4 a gallon, with diesel climbing past $5, as fighting disrupts shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Grocery bills are similarly affected, including sky-high prices on beef and other items, as analysts point to the same geopolitical chaos hitting fuel supplies.
Then there’s the nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak, causing “explosive diarrhea” lasting days or weeks. According to the Trump administration, more than 1,600 people have been confirmed with the illness, with more than 5,000 suspected cases pending confirmation. However, the numbers are likely much higher, as Michigan alone has reported more than 7,600 cases. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters the outbreak is “under control,” even as the cases keep climbing. Additionally, the FDA first claimed it had found the source, then suddenly reversed this claim as “a false positive” after the suspected company, Taylor Farms (a big donor to Donald Trump and other Republican campaigns) visited the White House.
Add these up, and a Democratic midterm election theme emerges:
Trump/Republican Illegality + Incompetence = Disaster For Americans
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool tells a similar story. What began as a vanity project to repaint the bottom of the National Mall’s iconic landmark has ballooned from an estimated $2 million into more than $14 million, via no-bid contracts awarded to firms with financial ties to Trump. Algae blooms, peeling paint, and vanishing deadlines turned a photo-op into a punchline. When cracks appeared in the pool floor, Trump blamed “vandals” instead of his own contractors (as well as a reckless joyride along the empty pool by the Presidential motorcade), and Park Police arrested five people on vandalism charges despite the administration producing no evidence they caused the alleged damage.
Elsewhere, ICE agents have shot and killed civilians on the streets and in their vehicles, including two U.S. citizens and a longtime U.S. resident who was seeking legal status. Another man, in the country on a tourist visa, died after running into traffic while leaving an ICE stop. Deaths in ICE custody are climbing even faster: at least 22 people have died so far in 2026, following a record 33 deaths in 2025, as investigators document neglected medical care and inadequate suicide prevention across the system.
Finally, the Trump administration is illegally attacking our voting rights. For example, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has threatened election officials with prosecution for refusing to hand over voter data, even though a federal judge has already ruled the effort illegal and more than a dozen courts have sided with states that refused to comply.
These incidents all tell a damning story of illegality and incompetence by the Trump administration that hurts so many voters. Democrats already cite affordability as an important part of this equation. Now they can expand that to help win the midterms.
Photo by Ron Cogswell, used under Creative Commons license. https://surl.li/kjzhju
