Trump may become the face of economic discontent, a year after such worries helped him win big

By JOSH BOAK and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump got a serious warning from voters that he s out of touch with their fears about a deteriorating U S market system Democrats were able to run up the outcome in key races across the country on Tuesday by harnessing specific of the same populist fervor that helped get Trump reelected a year ago but also by focusing on the kitchen table issues the Republican had vowed to fix Now as the incumbent fears about the business sector have made Trump the face of much of the society s discontent Voters in the Virginia and New Jersey governor races the New York City mayoral contest and the California ballot proposition each ranked economic concerns as a top issue Democrats swept all those and it was challenging to point to any major race anywhere where Republicans had a key triumph The reversal of fortune from a year ago was stark Back then voters returned Trump to the White House on the promise that he could promptly bring down inflation jump-start factory hiring and shower the country in newfound wealth from steep tariffs he imposed on U S allies the world over Instead voters are expressing concerns that high prices for groceries electricity bills and housing are draining their bank accounts Trump has been defiant in insisting that he s strengthened the business sector so it s not clear he ll internalize the need to take on the same inflationary challenges that became a drag for his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden But there are scant signs that the constituents is putting much confidence in Trump s insists about an American golden age nor his assertion that inflation has been slain In the past few days pressed on Americans still worried about high grocery prices Trump pointed to the stock sphere Look k s People have k s the president noted in an interview with CBS News Minutes that was broadcast on Sunday He commented grocery prices are falling but the the bulk up-to-date inflation document shows they re up from a year ago Overall consumer prices have risen over the past months which is higher than the rate going into Trump s voting win The Federal Reserve targets inflation at I don t think it was good for Republicans While the stock territory is surging and life looks good for tech executives with artificial intelligence investments hiring slowed sharply this summer in the wake of Trump rolling out his tariffs The AP Voter Poll evidenced that anxiety about the financial system helped the Democrats on Tuesday Roughly half of Virginia voters explained the market was the top issue and about in of these voters picked Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor powering her to a decisive win In New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill won about two-thirds of voters who called the financial market the top issue facing the state Republican Jack Ciattarelli secured about in New Jersey voters who mentioned the top issue was taxes More than half of New York City voters revealed the cost of living was the top issue facing the city and Democrat Zohran Mamdani won about two-thirds of this group Slightly fewer than half of California voters explained the business activity was the top issue facing the state and roughly two-thirds of those voters backed Prop Trump did not actively campaign for his party ahead of Polling Day With votes still being counted he was already ducking blame posting that he WASN T ON THE BALLOT Related Articles Tuesday s races were a quiet rebuke of Trump for several voters AP Voter Poll finds On Day the regime shutdown is now the longest ever and Trump wants the filibuster ended Trump administration and private investors sign off on billion deal with rare earth startups FBI fires additional agents who participated in analyzing Trump AP sources say Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns of mass chaos in skies if shutdown continues The morning after the vote while hosting Senate Republicans at the White House Trump was more reflective Last night it was not expected to be a mastery he reported The elections were largely in areas that have in recent days favored Democrats so there are limits in interpreting what the results could mean for next year s broader midterm races But the size of Democratic margins indicated the degree of frustration with economic conditions under Trump I don t think it was good for Republicans Trump explained I m not sure it was good for anybody but we had an stimulating evening and we learned a lot Trump who threw a lavish Jazz Age-themed Great Gatsby party at his Florida club Mar-a-Lago last weekend after jetting back from a trip to Asia dripping with luxury is headed back to Florida on Wednesday to lay out what he deems to be his economic successes for an audience of business leaders and athletes The Trump administration has maintained that the working class will soon benefit along with the billionaires We re going to see Main Street surge here along with Wall Street which we ve already seen Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned this week on Fox News Channel s Jesse Watters Primetime In the run-up to Tuesday s elections Trump had focused his messaging on mass deportations of immigrants in the country illegally and a push to reduce crime by deploying National Guard troops to cities with Democratic leadership But the AP Voter Poll exposed that limited of those casting their ballots considered crime or immigration a top priority Our side necessities to focus on affordability explained Vivek Ramaswamy a former Republican presidential candidate and Trump ally now running for Ohio governor in Make the American dream affordable Bring down costs electric costs grocery costs strength care costs and housing costs And lay out how we re going to do it