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Trump and MAGA Lost, but Big Government Notched Another Victory
The article argues that the midterm results were a clear rebuke of Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda, including tariffs, government intervention in business and mass deportations. It says J.D. Vance’s claim that the Iran war alone caused Republican losses ignores the wider effects of the administration’s policies and conduct.
The author sees a separate concern for supporters of limited government: neither party appears committed to reducing federal spending or the government’s reach. Federal spending was about $7.4 trillion in the fiscal year ending in September, up 6 per cent year on year, while the deficit reached $2 trillion, a 12 per cent increase. The article warns that without a shift in these trends, the election could be a missed chance to change the country’s economic direction.
In short
- Voters dealt Trump’s agenda a clear rebuke.
- The author says neither party is offering to shrink government.
- Federal spending reached $7.4 trillion, with a $2 trillion deficit.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The results can reasonably be read as a rebuke of Trump’s broader agenda, since voters may have objected not only to the Iran war but also to tariffs, intervention in business and mass deportations. At the same time, rising federal spending and deficits suggest that neither party has made a convincing case for limiting government, leaving the election a missed opportunity to change course.
The case against
Midterm losses alone do not establish that voters rejected Trump’s wider agenda; the Iran war or other immediate concerns may have mattered more, so Vance’s explanation deserves consideration. Nor does higher spending by itself show that government has grown too large: supporters of public programmes may see federal spending as necessary, and the figures cited do not settle whether the policies delivered value or what voters wanted.