The American people do not need spin. They need results. And the contrast heading into 2026 and the midterm elections could not be clearer.
As the country moves deeper into President Donald J. Trump’s second term, the political landscape is being shaped less by partisan theatrics and more by measurable outcomes.
On one side stands an administration executing a disciplined, results-driven America First agenda focused on affordability, prosperity, and security. On the other side stands a Democratic Party still struggling to explain its 2024 defeat, lacking a cohesive governing strategy, and increasingly defaulting to crisis politics — including renewed talk of a federal government shutdown as the current continuing resolution approaches expiration.
Nearly a year after losing the White House, Democrats quietly commissioned a post-election review of 2024. Yet no serious findings have been released, no lessons publicly acknowledged, and no accountability imposed. Was it inflation that crushed family budgets? Open borders that overwhelmed communities? Energy policies that drove up fuel and electricity costs? Or foreign weakness that emboldened adversaries? Americans are left guessing because Democrats would rather threaten dysfunction than admit their policies failed.
Instead of offering a constructive agenda, Democratic leaders are once again floating shutdown brinkmanship despite knowing full well that federal workers, military families, seniors, and small businesses are the ones who pay the price. This governing style is familiar: Manufacture chaos, blame Washington, and hope voters forget who lit the match. It is not leadership; it is exhaustion politics.
President Trump, by contrast, wasted no time getting to work.
In just one year, the Trump-Vance Administration has been methodically undoing the damage of the previous four years and reestablishing a foundation for long-term growth. Inflation, once at generational highs, has begun to ease as regulatory overreach is rolled back, domestic energy production is unleashed, and fiscal discipline is restored. Gas prices, a direct tax on working families, have stabilized as federal leasing resumes and pipeline infrastructure is treated as an economic necessity, not a political liability.
Affordability has been the administration’s north star. Prices for everyday necessities are going down. Real wage growth is again outpacing inflation. Small-business confidence has rebounded as compliance costs fall. Capital investment is accelerating as America reasserts itself as the best place in the world to build, hire, and innovate. Manufacturing reshoring announcements are at multi-year highs, clear evidence that pro-growth tax, trade, and regulatory policies work.
Trade policy has been rebalanced in America’s favor. Strategic tariffs, tougher enforcement, and fair-trade negotiations have narrowed trade deficits and strengthened critical domestic industries. Farmers, manufacturers, and blue-collar workers — long sacrificed at the altar of globalism — are once again central to U.S. economic strategy.
Regarding security, the contrast is just as stark. The Trump-Vance Administration restored operational control at the southern border, sharply reducing illegal crossings through enforcement, cooperation agreements, and a clear reassertion of U.S. sovereignty. Communities previously overwhelmed by chaos are finally seeing relief. Law enforcement is supported, not vilified, and violent crime trends are stabilizing as accountability replaces ideology.
Abroad, America is leading with strength and clarity. Allies know the United States means what it says. Adversaries are forced to calculate again. The Trump doctrine — peace through strength, burden-sharing, and unapologetic defense of national interests — has restored deterrence without endless wars or blank checks.
Some critics argue that not every American “feels” the recovery yet. That is an honest observation, and a reminder of just how deep the damage ran. After years of reckless spending, inflationary policies, and economic mismanagement, relief does not arrive overnight. But the direction has changed. The fundamentals are improving. Confidence is returning. And momentum is building.
This is why 2026 matters.
Democrats will enter this new year and the midterm elections without a governing record to defend, without transparency about their past failures, and now openly flirting with another shutdown as a political tactic. Republicans enter with results: Lower costs, stronger borders, renewed growth, and restored American credibility.
Elections are about trust. In November 2026, voters will choose between a party offering progress and stability and one still clinging to dysfunction and division. The evidence is mounting. The results are real. And the America First agenda is delivering exactly as promised.
Jorge Martinez is senior advisor and National Director for Hispanic Outreach for America First Works. He previously served as press secretary for the U.S. Department of Justice.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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