"Vote for the people who burned down the house?": Daniel Chang questions the Democrats' economic plan and warns that the cost of living threatens the Republicans' prospects in the midterms

Economist and political analyst Daniel Chang analyzed the impact of the cost of living on the upcoming midterm elections on Voz News and warned that rising gasoline and diesel prices could hurt the Republican Party, despite the Trump administration's economic progress. ""Gas prices tend to be a strong indicator of how the American public feels about the economy," he noted.

During the interview with Karina Yapor, anchor and CEO of Voz News, Chang noted that Donald Trump won the 2024 election largely due to dissatisfaction with inflation during the Biden administration, which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. Although current inflation remains below those levels, the analyst explained that rising fuel prices, exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East, have made it difficult for Republicans to highlight their economic achievements. "The American public was fed up with these prices, this inflation, and this cost of living. And that's why they voted for President Donald Trump," she said.

Chang also questioned the Democrats' ability to offer solutions to the affordability problem and argued that voters should evaluate their economic proposals before supporting them at the polls. "If a house is on fire, I don't know if the best option is necessarily to ask people to vote for the people who set the house on fire," he said, referring to Biden's economic management. However, he acknowledged that Democrats have an electoral advantage because midterm elections tend to become a referendum on the sitting administration.

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The analyst emphasized that Republicans have pushed for measures to promote economic freedom, including the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which extended the 2017 tax cuts and prevented a significant tax increase for Americans. However, he cautioned that these achievements have been overshadowed by rising fuel prices and persistent inflation. "The cost of living and the cost of gas are hurting the Republican Party," he noted, pointing out that historically, the party in power tends to face difficult midterm elections.

Elsewhere in the interview, Chang expressed reservations about Trump's proposal to give $5,000 to every citizen if Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress, through a mechanism that has not yet been defined. Although the payments could be funded by tariff revenue, the analyst warned about the growing budget deficit and called for maintaining budget discipline. "President Donald Trump must also understand this and present plans that help the American people [...] without upsetting the U.S. fiscal balance," he concluded.

You can watch the full interview by clicking on the video below.