‘Affordability’ will be ‘growing challenge’ for Republicans in midterms: Marc Short

Former White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short on Monday said affordability will become a “growing challenge” for Republicans in midterm elections as costs rise amid the conflict with Iran.

“The reality is that prices are going to continue to go up. This is going to continue to ripple through. And I agree with Ana. It’s to say this is a short-term pain really sets an expectation for a lot of Americans that if it’s not, it’s going to create a bigger and bigger problem come November,” Short said during a Monday appearance on CNN’s “News Night.”

“And so, I do think that affordability was one of the primary issues that he was elected on,” Short said of President Trump. “I think it’s going to be a growing, growing challenge for Republicans in the midterms this November,” he added.

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Republicans in Congress are aiming to keep their razor-thin majority in both chambers, but they face a challenge in the House.

The president’s party typically loses seats in a midterm election, and just a handful of gains by Democrats would be enough to flip the chamber.

Democrats have a tougher hill to climb to retake the Senate majority given the map. They would have to gain four Senate seats to take a 51-49 majority.

In February, strategist Karl Rove said Trump is “making the same mistake” former President Biden made when he insisted that his economic policies were putting more money in the pockets of Americans.

Amid criticism, the president has touted his impact on the economy and the initial impact of tariffs, although they were struck down by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, Trump predicted that 2026 will be “even better” than his first year back in office.

“There are factories and plants and thousands of businesses being built all over the country,” he said. “I just spoke to President Xi [Jinping] of China. Nobody has ever seen anything like what’s happening right now in America.”

The president is set to meet with Xi during a meeting next month to re-hash trade agreements with Beijing.

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