Trump’s billionaire-blue collar coalition has been smashed by class politics | Aditya Chakrabortty
Summary
Aditya Chakrabortty argues that class and affordability concerns have weakened the coalition that helped elect Donald Trump, despite support from wealthy donors and technology executives. He says voters are linking high living costs to low wages and inequality, issues that he argues political leaders across both parties have helped deepen.Key Facts
- The article says wealthy donors, including Elon Musk, spent heavily on Trump-aligned candidates before the midterms, while working- and middle-class voters rejected them.
- It reports that Elon Musk spent $446 million on the U.S. midterms.
- The article points to high fuel, food and housing costs as major concerns for American voters.
- It credits New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani with making affordability a central political message and linking living costs to wage inequality.
- The article says the richest 400 U.S. households pay lower tax rates than the bottom half of Americans.
- It cites economists Fred Magdoff and John Bellamy Foster, who estimate that workers’ share of national income fell from 30% in the 1960s to 20% today.
- It cites Harvard economist Jason Furman’s estimate that AI infrastructure spending accounted for 92% of U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025.
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