Donald Trump is escalating a trade war with one of the country’s closest trading partners, he is nearly seven months into a Middle East conflict, and this weekend he launched a war on the press by confiscating press credentials from news organizations that cover him accurately and honestly. Weeks from the midterm election, Trump is waging his third war of the year as new polling released today shows 29% of Americans approve of the job he’s done as president, and only 26% approve of his handling of the economy.
Affordability has become the defining issue of the midterms, and the president has spent the last month fighting Canada, Iran, and the press instead of the cost of living.
The cost of Trump’s three wars:
- The war in Iran has choked global fuel routes and driven diesel past $6 a gallon for the first time in history, a cost that flows straight into the price of nearly everything that moves by truck.
- The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now well above $4.40, more than a dollar higher than it was a year ago.
- A Pentagon watchdog report found that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and dozens of American aircraft at U.S. bases across eight countries, far beyond anything the administration acknowledged publicly.
- Defense officials now say more service members have died than the Pentagon has disclosed in its own public casualty database.
- Weeks ago, Trump’s trade war with Canada reached a new level, with tariff rates on most Canadian goods climbing to 50%, inviting retaliatory tariffs on a wide swath of American goods, escalating a fight with one of the largest trading partners the United States has.
- Economists estimate Trump’s sweeping tariffs and broader trade war will cost the average household $1,100 annually, with the heaviest relative burden landing on families who spend the biggest share of their income on basics.
- Trump barred CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, had reporters turned away at the gate, and made clear that other outlets could be next.
- Press freedom advocates and the White House Correspondents’ Association called the bans a violation of the First Amendment and demanded that access be restored.
“As prices have risen all year and Trump’s agenda has grown more unpopular with the American people, he has turned to distractions each time instead of solutions,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “Trump is waging three wars to change the headlines from his broken promises and failures at home, but none of those wars do anything to put more money in the pockets of working-class families. Manufacturing new enemies won’t lower a single bill for any American household, and in November voters will remember what the priorities for Trump and the Republican Party were while they faced unaffordable costs across the board.”
Published: Sep 21, 2026