Less than two weeks after Donald Trump’s victory, consumer sentiment among Republicans has soared to unprecedented heights. The economy, which Trump had previously condemned as broken and failing under the Biden administration, is now suddenly looking pretty darn great—at least to those in the GOP.
It’s almost as if all the problems that plagued the economy during Biden’s presidency just vanished the moment Trump was declared the winner. Inflation? Gone. Unemployment? Down. Economic recovery? Well, it must be just around the corner, now that Republicans are in charge again.
It seems that for Republicans, the state of the economy is directly tied to the party in power. For years, GOP voters lamented what they saw as a sluggish, stagnant economy under Biden. But now, with Trump poised to return to the White House, they’ve suddenly turned a corner. It’s as if the same economy that was once deemed disastrous is now somehow “great” again, just because Republicans will soon be calling the shots.
Micah Roberts, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies, notes that this surge in optimism isn’t all that surprising. “Republicans are feeling more optimistic than ever about the future of the economy, even though it’s the same economy that they were criticizing just a few months ago,” Roberts says. And indeed, it’s hard to ignore the irony: the very same voters who blamed Biden for everything from rising gas prices to supply chain issues are now proclaiming that things are looking up, simply because the GOP has regained control.
And then there’s the matter of the election itself. For years, Republicans have questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election, with many arguing that it was “rigged” or “stolen.” But after Trump’s 2024 victory, suddenly the idea of widespread voter fraud seems to have lost its appeal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been one of the loudest voices in the “election was stolen” camp, now says there’s “no evidence” of any fraud in the 2024 race.
It’s a remarkable turnabout. Just a few years ago, Republicans were all but certain that voter fraud was rampant and that the election was unfair. Now, the very same party has seemingly embraced the notion that elections are secure and legitimate—because, of course, they won. Funny how that works.
Of course, none of this would be complete without acknowledging the ironic nature of it all. For years, Republicans were the party of economic doom and gloom, loudly condemning everything from rising taxes to the lack of border security. Yet now, with Trump back in power and the GOP controlling Congress, the economy is suddenly great, and voter fraud is a thing of the past.
As Micah Roberts puts it, the shift in sentiment is really just about partisanship: “Once Republicans are in charge, everything looks better—even when it’s the same economic conditions they were criticizing just a short time ago.”
For now, Republicans are riding high on their newfound optimism, but there’s always the looming question of how long it will last. Once they are fully in control, the pressure will be on to deliver tangible results. If the economy stumbles or improvement doesn’t materialize, or if other key issues like immigration aren’t addressed, Republicans may soon find themselves facing the same scrutiny they once leveled at Democrats.
But for now, Republicans are basking in the glow of their victory, convinced that everything’s looking up—just as long as they’re the ones in charge. It’s a curious position to be in, considering how quickly the narrative has shifted from economic despair to newfound prosperity and from claims of fraud to declarations of election integrity. But that’s politics, I suppose: all it takes is a win, and suddenly everything looks just fine.
