Trump’s midterm message to his base: It’s an American Golden Age, just not for you.

A con man will look you straight in the face and tell you his con with a straight face. As President Trump jet-sets on a non-stop tour to prevent the midterm bloodbath that pundits are predicting, he isn’t just going to battleground states. His stops in very heavily red states have turned heads as his trademark chaos strategy has people wondering if he can mitigate the impending massacre.

Is he trying to encourage MAGA voters to turn out in large numbers? Is he just on an ego trip to deal with the dismal poll numbers? Is he trying to create content that shows large crowds that can be played in battleground states to portray that people still rabidly support him? Or are the numbers on the ground in heavily red states just that bad too? It might be a combination of all and we probably won’t find out until after Election Day, but Trump’s midterm message to his base has been consistent and brutally honest.

This is an American Golden Age, just not for you. This is the best it has ever been in America, but you have to pay the price. People are making money hand over fist, but you, my base, have to go through pain in order for this gravy train to be maintained. While campaigning in Arizona, Trump proclaimed that “ we’re making a fortune ” on oil prices. Most Americans reacted like Uncle Phil in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” when Will Smith’s character said, “we’re rich.”

But this was Trump being his most honest. He has lied about everything from elections to inflation to his golf game. But in this midterm push, he has finally revealed what the plan was the whole time. The people he cares about are making money. His family is raking it in , billionaires are getting richer so that they can blow over $150 million on a Texas Senate campaign, corporations are reporting record profits while laying off workers , and fraudsters are paying for pardons . People who can pay to access the president and his family, are living their best life.

Trump’s base? They are paying the price, both literally and figuratively, for Trump’s Golden Age. Food pantries in West Virginia can’t keep up with demand for food relief. Diesel prices have hurt farmers (among others) where their costs have increased by thousands of dollars a week. States hurt most by gas prices are primarily red. His base is paying and for what? A feeling that they owned the libs?

There are two universal truths of the American voter. The first is that Americans vote with their wallets. The second is that Americans will compare themselves to others. The Republicans have usually been amazing using the latter truth to get votes. They will go to voters and say, “Things are tough on you, but look at those illegal immigrants getting free things.” Or they will say, “You are just getting by but look at those welfare queens gaming the system.” They may ask, “Why are people on welfare buying lobster and getting the latest iPhone?” They might also say, “Your kid might not have gotten good grades, but their spot at a top-notch university was taken by a Black kid because of DEI.”

It works because life is hard and when you perceive others getting a break, you get resentful. Trump voters often will say they turned to him because they felt they were left behind. They were right, for the most part. Trump’s populism gave them the hope he would enrich them but would also ensure those they were told were unjustly reaping the benefits would no longer be able to.

And here we are. You can’t blame illegal immigrants, DEI, welfare recipients, Black Americans, woke liberals, universities, medical experts, or even the Democrats anymore. Trump voters gave him everything so he could improve their lives. Yeah, they got to feel patriotic and like they were winning a game whether it was political, religious, cultural, or all of the above against the rest of us, but at some point, their lives should have improved.

Think about every president in your lifetime. Has any one of them told you that in order for this country to be great, that you had to suffer? They might have said times were tough for everyone, or that we as a country were about to go through some challenges, but no president has ever trotted out to his most ardent supporters and told them this is the best it has ever been, just not for you.

Trump voters now have to buy a literal “check in the mail” promise and hope that at some point the wealth will flow downward toward them. Because of the Big Beautiful Bill, tariffs, and war with Iran along with a president set on enriching people that he cares about, they might have to wait a very long time. At some point, you have to realize if you aren’t already coming out on top in this “Golden Age,” you have been conned.

Joslin Joseph is a recipient of the Military Reporters and Editors award for Best Commentary / Opinion. A graduate of Harvard and Ohio State, he is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. He currently lives in Anaheim, Calif.