From “Democrats Have Found Their Message—and Trump Is Freaking Out” by Alex Shephard at The New Republic:

“Remember, Donald Trump ran for office saying he would lower costs on day one. Costs of groceries are up, cost of housing is up, cost of health care is up,” Warren said on CNBC. “And where is Donald Trump? He’s passing a signature bill to throw people off their health care so he can do tax cuts for billionaires. Democrats are the people who say ‘billionaires actually should pay their fair share’ and that we need to focus on affordability for American families. And that’s what we’re fighting for.”

Trump was furious. “In just 6 months, I cut costs, especially Energy and Taxes, Tremendously. Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, on CNBC, said costs have gone up,” he wrote on Truth Social, using his long-standing offensive nickname for the senator. “She is just angry that I blew up her terrible Presidential Campaign. Call her out!!!”

Trump’s wrong. Prices are going up on just about everything. “Government data, including from the Commerce Department this week, show that prices rose in June on items heavily exposed to tariffs, such as home furnishings, toys and appliances,” The New York Times reportedover the weekend. That’s Trump’s Commerce Department. He may be trying to cook the books in other areas—notably by firing the federal official tasked with collecting (recently disappointing) jobs data—but he can’t hide the fact that the economy is getting worse.

On Friday, a Morning Consult poll found that nearly two-thirds of surveyed voters blamed Trump for rising prices—and that nearly eight in 10 of them, including an astounding 70 percent of Republicans, believe Trump’s tariffs will increase the price of everyday goods. On Monday, an AP-NORC poll found that more than half of respondents were stressed about rising grocery prices—prices that are likely to continue to rise. Everywhere you look, voters are telling pollsters that they’re stressed about skyrocketing costs.

Trump’s trade war has handed the Democratic Party a winning message in a moment in which they badly need one. As the party slowly figures out what it stands for in the Trump 2.0 era, the cost of living crisis is quickly emerging as an issue that will decide the 2026 midterms—which will, coincidentally, occur right as the full force of Trump’s tariffs is being felt across the economy and in everyone’s wallets.

…Trump’s tariffs are already causing costs to spike. Coffee is skyrocketing thanks in part to tariffs on Brazil that are designed at helping a political ally, Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently facing charges related to an alleged coup. Proctor & Gamble is applying a 2.5 percent price increase to goods in August because of the rising costs associated with tariffs. Price increases are likely inescapable. As the Times reported, “Many businesses chose to absorb the additional tax during the early days of President Trump’s trade war. But evidence is emerging that they are running out of options to keep prices stable in the face of deteriorating profit margins, suggesting that the tariffs could have a more pronounced effect on prices in the months ahead.” And once those prices go up, they’re unlikely to come down.

Read more here.