Voters heading to the polls in the forthcoming midterm elections will have to ask themselves if things are better than they were “two years ago,” and as one Fox News analyst argued for The Hill, the answers to that question are going to be brutal for President Donald Trump.
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Juan Williams is a longtime political analyst for Fox News and remains one of the exceedingly rare liberal Democratic voices on the staunchly conservative network. As such, he has never been wary of leveling harsh criticisms against Trump, as he does in his recurring columns for The Hill.
In his latest piece for the outlet from Monday morning, Williams said that members of Congress are left to ask themselves, “What are we doing here?,” as they prepare to leave Washington D.C., for the upcoming August recess. It is the same question, he suggested, that voters are asking in “bold letters” and with “screaming” voices.
“Voters gave President Trump and his fellow Republicans unified control of Congress for two years with a mandate: Bring down grocery and gas prices for working Americans while avoiding another endless war,” Williams wrote. “How is that working out?”
Williams proceeded to break down the striking statistics related to the advanced ages of lawmakers in the current Congress, including the fact that six members have died in office this term and over 100 of them still in office are at least over the age of 70.
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“Defenders of Congress’s gerontocracy argue that senior lawmakers bring invaluable experience. But experience should bring results,” Williams wrote. “The signature legislative accomplishment of this Congress will be a large tax cut, called the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ The Republicans who voted to pass the bill are now silent about it. On the campaign trail for the upcoming midterms, Republican candidates find it hard to defend a bill whose largest benefits flow disproportionately to high-income Americans and major corporations.”
He continued later: “From farmers to auto workers, Americans have felt the economic disruption caused by the president’s failed tariffs as well as the global economic fallout from closing the Strait of Hormuz. What about congressional oversight? There is no oversight of another endless war. And as lawmakers noted during [Todd] Blanche’s hearings last week, questions remain about whether the administration has fully complied with congressional demands for information on the Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse scandal.”
By contrast, he noted, Democrats can point to much more beneficial records during the times when they are in control of Washington. Under Barack Obama, the party passed the Affordable Care Act and enacted rules to prevent insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions. Under Joe Biden, “they passed the largest infrastructure investment in generations, rebuilding roads, bridges, broadband, ports, and water systems while directing significant investment toward rural America.”
“Unified government under Trump’s Republicans has produced something different: Tax relief concentrated at the top, increasing income inequality. There are now more billionaires and more working-class people juggling bills,” Williams added, later concluding. “President Ronald Reagan famously asked voters, ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’ This year, Americans can ask: Are we better off than two years ago? In other words: ‘What are we doing here?’”
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