In the 2024 presidential race, President Trump ran on an affordability campaign, stressing the importance of bringing the cost of living down from where it was during the Biden administration.
Trump understood that Americans were fed up with the political elites who controlled Washington during the administration prior and that the average citizen's trust in Congress was plummeting rapidly. Considering this, he positioned himself as a voice for the people, adopting a populist plan that admittedly sounded attractive. Who wouldn’t be drawn to a president who claimed under his administration the cost of living would be lower and more jobs would be available for the working class?
The irony is in the similarities between Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign. Both campaigns ran on the aforementioned affordability crisis that persists in this nation, used social media and pop culture to connect with young voters and called out the current president or mayor for not adequately representing their constituents.
The difference is that political heads in Washington, to some extent in differing extremity, have labeled Mamdani as a corrupt and inexperienced communist, with both sides of the political aisle denouncing his campaign. Meanwhile, Trump’s reputation as an "America First" capitalist remained pretty intact. Not to say that Trump doesn't have plenty of political enemies in Washington, or that the whole mainstream media was singing Trump's praises from the rooftop. Of course, he for sure had plenty of critics during the campaign. It’s just that these two politicians who ran on similar campaigns, which both centered on bringing power back to the people through affordability, received vastly different media coverage.
So here we are, over 400 days into Trump's presidency, and I thoroughly believe not one second of it was dedicated towards the affordability crisis he ran on, nor prioritizing the voters he represents. Now, granted, I didn’t expect much prior to his second term regarding benevolent and just ruling, but the optics show clearly that he cares more for the billionaire elite class he leads than any of his supporters living paycheck to paycheck.
However, Trump is willing to make efforts in creating political hostility among citizens as a distraction to cover up questionable financial policies.
From the international perspective of the president's term in office, instead of addressing affordability in America, Trump has spent his time threatening to seize control over sovereign nations. The president has threatened Canada and Panama over their own sovereignty. He has gone back on his "no new wars" campaign by organizing military strikes on Venezuela and Iran, while simultaneously blocking oil distribution to Cuba, resulting in a devastating power shortage for its citizens.
Gas prices have skyrocketed due to the current war with Iran. With gas being the most expensive it’s been since midway through the Biden administration, I fail to understand how this administration can claim to care about affordability.
Additionally, Trump has increased global tariffs throughout his term — a notable international policy. Trump claimed the unprecedented global tariffs, which were imposed in spring 2025, were intended to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and lessen global economic dependency. In reality, the tariff policies raised prices of many day-to-day products, making the cost of living in fact less affordable.
In this country, our federal government frames global political conversations around how "patriotic" you are as a citizen as the most important characteristic. There has been a line drawn in the sand by this administration; on one side of the line, you're labeled as an "America First" patriot who would die for the nation, and on the other, you're a good-for-nothing, unpatriotic, worthless citizen. Pro-war propaganda has spread like wildfire, with the administration using Gen Z meme culture, including Wii Sports branding, to prop up their war efforts. It is disgusting, purposefully distracting and immoral to propagandize war in these ways.
I do not believe the global policies the Trump Administration has implemented represent his constituents' wishes and instead have increased the average cost of living. Conflicts in Iran over oil distribution and nuclear weaponry have backfired and have caused the cost of gas skyrocket. Global tariffs imposed throughout the term have raised the cost of every day items. Additionally, the way these global policies are framed through propaganda intentionally distracts and divides us as citizens.
On the domestic front, instead of addressing the affordability crisis he ran on, Trump has attacked the Latino community through illegal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, blamed the left for all political violence and stoked massive political fighting between people on the left and right.
In January, during ICE's occupation of Minneapolis, two civilians, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, were assassinated by ICE agents in public. The president's administration justified both killings. The administration claimed Pretti was a domestic terrorist because of his legally licensed gun, which stayed holstered during the confrontation; the administration claimed Good attempted to hit an ICE agent with her car. Both events were caught on film and prove the president and his administration wrong. Neither citizen was making an attempt on the life of an ICE agent, but they were still fatally shot.
I see this as an intentional demonstration to cause disagreements upon civilians who feel pressured to pick a political side and stay committed to it regardless of outcomes. Using the term "domestic terrorist" to label citizens who disagree with your policies and fight against them blurs the line of justice in this country heavily.
Public shootings have also been a massive point of political contention this past year. After the fatal shooting of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk, Trump took to social media to blame the "radical" left for the shooting, claiming that they solely cause political division and violence. The president avoided mentioning the assassination of a Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota in June 2025 nor the political attack on Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi's husband, in 2022.
Political violence, not only in this country but in the history of mankind, has never solely been committed by one political party. Framing political violence in a way that blames your opposition fully for its existence is misleading and propaganda. I see this as another instance of intentional political division instilled by the president and his administration.
Lastly, legislation, such as the "Big Beautiful Bill," works to provide tax cuts to the billionaire class by cutting federal funding to programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Many low-income families rely on healthcare and food assistance to live daily. The current administration has justified cuts to these programs by claiming they're financially corrupt, which has been proven to be not true or, at most, heavily exaggerated. I fail to understand how cuts to federal assistance programs benefit voters and don't prioritize the billionaires of this country through massive tax cuts.
We're at a point in this country where federal cuts to low-income programs are justified by a need for billionaires to keep as much wealth as possible. We're at a point in this country where aggressive global tariffs imposed by our president have harmed his own civilians through rises in cost of living. We're at a point in this country where a massively unpopular war on Iran has raised the price of gas substantially.
Our federal government is orchestrating a blame game to divide citizens and cover up these affordability issues.
All of these affordability issues have been covered up by efforts to divide citizens through a blame game orchestrated by our federal government. Whether propagandizing the war in Iran, accusing Pretti and Good of being "domestic terrorists" or blaming the president's opposition solely for political violence, intentional hyperbolic rhetoric has split the nation in a war of political culture.
This is why I believe our country is fighting a war between classes that is disguised as a war between political cultures.
Political identities have become so closely attached to a person's personal identity. I believe it is undeniably due to our federal government stoking the flames of political differences.
The government wants us to hate each other because of our political differences, stripping each other of our humanity. The government wants us to think the problems reside in our personal disagreements with each other and not within the choices that are made in Washington, D.C.
The job of the president is to unite, not to divide. I know it sounds obvious and cliché, but it isn’t being done. Our current president has incited hate with his words and has used his platform to benefit the top 1% of the population, instead of the people who voted for him.
Meanwhile. we argue about political topics directly orchestrated by our president, while not benefiting off of his legislation.
Trump succeeded in the 2024 election because of an affordability campaign he has failed to commit to. Instead of supporting the working class, he has made continual efforts to make money for himself and his billionaire friends. Billionaire tax cuts at the expense of Medicaid and SNAP funding through the "Big Beautiful Bill" are proof for such a claim. The president masks this grift by scapegoating the Latino community as criminals, claiming the left is solely responsible for political violence and villainizing politicians who oppose him through smear campaigns.
An administration that claims they view merit above all else is run by an intentionally divisive, meritless man.
Infighting directly orchestrated by the current administration and political media is destroying this country.
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