Polling shows that Americans remain understandably frustrated by an economy that has stolen their prosperity and sapped their spirits, especially citizens of modest means. Of course, that very frustration largely propelled President Donald Trump back into office for a second term, with a national-mandate win that rejected the managed decline of Bidenomics and yearns for a return to MAGAnomics prosperity.

Concurrently, that restlessness creates risks for the new administration, which needs to deliver substantive accomplishments, and quickly. Moreover, the Trump economic plan and all attendant achievements must be delivered via the most effective messaging possible, to convince a naturally weary and skeptical citizenry.

Thankfully, this national survey of over 1,700 voters reveals that those hard-working citizens now prefer Trump’s GOP as the “party of workers” over the Democrats, a tectonic shift vs. the political alignments of the past. Those voters also prioritize the economy, by a massive margin. When asked to name the two most important agenda items for the new White House, inflation is far and away the top issue, named by 58% of respondents, with reducing taxes second at 27% and immigration/border control third at 26%.

This poll was conducted by TIPP Insights for the League of American Workers and used a sample universe that broke down by Trump +2 points over Harris for the 2024 vote choice. It found voters look back with material derision at the Biden presidency, giving him a job approval/disapproval ratio of only 37/53% overall, with a scant 28% of independents approving of Biden’s performance in his single term.

Still, the numbers also reveal real potential pitfalls for the current Congress and administration. For example, voters were asked about high food prices: “If grocery prices stay the same or rise into summer, who would you hold responsible?” In response, 45% would blame Trump, 26% Biden, and 19% would blame both, with 10% unsure.

These data points should not produce alarm, of course, but rather a steely focus on the task ahead. The primary and foundational goal of the new White House must reach for a golden era of broadly dispersed Main Street success, combined with a laser-focused communication machine to sell that agenda and then celebrate the wins.

So, given these realities, and cognizant of the overall grim mood of the people after four years of Biden’s madness on immigration and inflation, what are the tangible steps toward healing the economic wounds and lifting the national spirit?

First, serious, dispassionate economic addresses from President Trump and all other pertinent senior officials make sense. Lay out the fact-based reasons why the economic handoff from Joe Biden was so troublesome. Specifically, use kitchen-table metrics like housing affordability, which hit the worst levels ever under Biden, per Goldman Sachs.

Once that baseline is established, move on to the forward plan: Trump did not make this mess, but he is the perfect entrepreneur president to fix it. How do we rebuild buying power and restore spirits?

First, convey to the people in plain terms that the transition from mass offshoring and endless public sector spending can be tumultuous. In the near term, markets and some businesses resist the new model, but eventually patriotic economic populist nationalism will usher in a new age of success.

Then, on policy, insist on American sovereignty once again, in both trade and migration. As President Trump promised in his Inaugural Address, an External Revenue Service agenda has begun, and countries around the world can no longer abuse American workers with predatory trade practices that are neither fair nor reciprocal.

Whether friend or foe, the companies and nations of the world must realize that they cannot exploit our markets unjustly from abroad. But even more importantly, through abundant energy and aggressive deregulation, America can create the most attractive conditions possible for those firms to produce their wares here, in the United States, for unfettered access to the crown jewel consumer market of the world.

In addition, the workers of America must not face unjust and illegal competition in the labor market from hordes of foreigners invited into our homeland by Biden and Harris. This national poll also shows widespread support for Trump’s deportation agenda, with a massive 79% of voters approving of deportations of all illegal aliens with criminal records.

Looking internally, a foundational part of making America fertile ground for enterprise success means moving toward fiscal sanity again. With $36 trillion in outstanding bonds, and debt service costs now consuming more of the federal budget than defense or Medicare, returning to pre-COVID spending levels becomes an imperative, even if that goal must be realized in the coming months rather than immediately.  

Unfortunately, far too many power brokers in Washington remain perfectly comfortable with the economic status quo, which works well for the connected Beltway cabal. But regular Americans know all too well the anxiety and pain of making ends meet, because of the very inflation that Permanent Washington fuels through profligate policies. For example, serious auto loan delinquencies just rose to an all-time high, eclipsing even the worst extremes of the 2008-09 Great Financial Crisis.

Those regular Americans elected President Trump because they remember the success they enjoyed in his first term, and they rightly believe in his ability to lift America out of Biden’s created quagmire. Now, the country needs all of Washington, from the White House to DOGE to Congress, to embrace this economic mission with the highest possible urgency.