This week marks one year since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
And if you’re wondering how things are going—here’s the short version: prices are up, the rich are richer, and our communities are under siege. Meanwhile, President Trump has been laser-focused on dictating to other countries, monopolizing power, and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Prices are Up
Before Trump was elected in 2024, he promised to bring prices down.
He said his proposed tariffs would be paid by foreign countries, not Americans.
Well, look what’s happened: As soon as Trump announced his tariffs, inflation started going back up and has been elevated ever since.
And according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, 96% of those costs are being paid by American consumers.
That’s right. Trump’s tariffs have sent prices soaring on everything from groceries to home goods. It’s an intentional tax on the middle class, plain and simple.
But it’s not just items affected by tariffs that are more expensive.
Electricity costs have risen more than 13% nationally since a year ago, including nearly 8% in South Carolina.
And Health Care premiums have on average doubled for Americans who have received tax credits for health care through the ACA Marketplace. Even Americans with employer-sponsored coverage are seeing their premiums rise by 6%.
Trump’s “tax cuts”
Now, let’s be fair: Trump kept his promise to extend his 2017 tax law in passing his “big, beautiful bill.”
But it’s not so simple.
Because two-thirds of the $3.4 trillion in tax breaks in that bill go straight to the richest 10% of Americans.
That’s $2.3 trillion for the richest 10% of households. And $1.1 trillion for the bottom 90% of Americans.
And it gets even worse: To “pay for” some of the bill, Trump and Republicans pushed through the largest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in American history. As a result, 7.5 million will lose their health coverage while 4 million will see their SNAP benefits terminated or cut.
If your household earns less than $55,000 a year, chances are you’ll end up worse off. And with over $4 trillion added to the national debt, interest rates on car loans, mortgages, and small business financing are all heading higher.
Immigration
Trump pledged “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what he’s doing—and worse.
His administration has diverted resources away from law enforcement and national security activities towards carrying out deportations—prioritizing deporting hardworking people who are making positive contributions to their communities over combating real threats to public safety.
And to make this possible, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”—the same bill that cut taxes for billionaires and health care for millions of Americans—spent $85 billion to expand ICE’s budget.
With a new budget of $30 billion-a-year, ICE is now the highest-funded law enforcement agency in America.
What are we getting for that investment?
An army of under-trained, militarized officers patrolling our neighborhoods in shiny new $100,000 SUVs—racially profiling people, attacking peaceful protesters, and, just two weeks ago, killing an unarmed woman in Minnesota. This week, they detained a 5-year-old in Minnesota. When will this end?
This is not safety. This is Trump’s vision of “law and order”—and its sowing chaos in our communities.
And let’s be clear: These ICE agents aren’t highly-trained members of our armed forces or law enforcement agencies.
No. ICE is now spending $100 million on a “wartime” recruitment effort—aiming to hire 10,000 new agents, many with no law enforcement background, with only eight weeks of training and up to $50,000 sign up bonuses. They’re reportedly recruiting people based off of MAGA-aligned interests, not suitability for the role.
Let’s be clear: Americans don’t want this. We need immigration enforcement and reforms that are fair, effective, and humane—not a political show of force that takes control of American communities.
So, after a year of Trump here we are:
- Costs are up.
- The rich are richer.
- Communities across this country are being turned into militarized zones.
And Trump is focused on his personal dominance and glory.
But don’t worry. According to Trump, “The best is yet to come.”
If that means the next three years are anything like this one, I’ll be continuing to push back every step of the way.
Sincerely,
Jim