Republicans are encountering difficulties in the upcoming midterm elections, as voters are increasingly focused on the rising cost of living, according to multiple reports. Issues like high diesel fuel prices, increasing mortgage rates, and rising grocery costs are making it hard for the GOP to effectively address inflation. While the party claims that the current administration is responsible for the cost-of-living crisis and that Republicans have helped ease it through tax cuts, this narrative is proving difficult to sell, as polls show that Americans are more likely to blame the current president for high prices rather than the previous one. The core challenge for Republicans is that the cost of living has become the top concern for voters. In 2026, American purchasing power has declined significantly due to policies implemented by the current president. In nearly every poll, a majority of voters cite "inflation," "the cost of living," or "affordability" as their most pressing issue, and they are not impressed with the former president's track record on this front. A recent Ipsos survey found that 74 percent of respondents believe their cost of living is "off on the wrong track." According to Nate Silver's poll tracker, over 70 percent of Americans disapprove of the former president's handling of inflation, a sharp increase from 41 percent when he first took office. In his first year in office, the former president could have argued that voters were unfairly criticizing his economic performance, as real wages rose in 2025. However, in February 2026, the former president triggered a war with Iran, which brought nearly three years of real wage growth to a halt and led to the first sustained decline in Americans' purchasing power since 2022. According to an estimate from Brown's Watson School, the Iran war has cost the average U.S. household more than $780 through increased energy prices. This has had a noticeable political impact, as the former president's net approval rating on inflation has dropped from -28 to -45.9. The Dallas Federal Reserve analyzed the impact of the former president's tariffs on consumer prices, comparing the current core inflation rate to what it would have been without tariffs. The two lines diverged sharply after "Liberation Day," when the president imposed large tariffs on nearly all of America's trade partners. The Supreme Court gave the former president an opportunity to abandon much of his inflationary trade agenda by ruling that the bulk of his tariffs were unconstitutionally enacted. At that point, the president could have argued that his overturned import taxes had been brilliant but was left no choice but to withdraw them, thereby easing price pressures in an election year. Instead, the former president immediately enacted temporary 10 percent across-the-board tariffs with alternative legal authorities. Recently, the president escalated commercial tensions with Canada into an all-out trade war, imposing a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports and declaring that Lake Ontario was now "Lake America." Ottawa responded with up to 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion in U.S. goods. On Wednesday night, the president indicated that he is not in a rush to reach a compromise with Canada, saying that Canada was "dying to make a deal." While the U.S.-Canada trade war is unlikely to have a major impact on the American economy as a whole, it will be felt in regions heavily integrated with the Canadian economy, including parts of Maine, where Republican Senator Susan Collins is trying to hold onto her Senate seat. In a Guardian poll earlier this year, seven in 10 Americans said that the president's tariffs had forced them to pay higher prices. Even the former president understands that his trade agenda is bad for affordability, as he paused plans to dramatically raise ground beef tariffs last month to ease meat costs for consumers. However, he has refused to apply the logic of his hamburger policy to broader aspects of international commerce. On Wednesday night, the president promised to deliver a $5,000 check to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November. However, this bold giveaway has little support on Capitol Hill, in part because high deficits are already putting upward pressure on inflation and interest rates—yet another cost-of-living issue his own policies have worsened.