{"id":4778,"date":"2026-08-15T05:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T05:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4778"},"modified":"2026-08-15T05:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T05:06:57","slug":"are-you-better-off-conservative-assails-trump-in-thundering-takedown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4778","title":{"rendered":"‘Are you better off?’ Conservative assails Trump in thundering takedown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Conservative pundit S.E. Cupp questions the wisdom of setting President Donald Trump up with unfettered power for the second half of his term, especially considering the mess that his first two years have delivered.<\/p>\n

Read more America\u2019s weakest in 50 years \u2014with two more years of Trump to go: analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn October 1980, then-candidate Ronald Reagan asked voters a very important question: \u2018Are you better off than you were four years ago?\u2019 It was during the only televised debate he had against incumbent President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency had been marred by one crisis after another, from record-high inflation and rising unemployment, to soaring gas prices and the Iran hostage crisis,\u201d Cupp said in a Chicago Sun Times column.<\/p>\n

Reagan, of course, already knew the answer to his question for most Americans, but putting it to words helped propel him to a landslide victory, said Cupp. It also became a catch-all phrase for a political challenger to question an incumbent.<\/p>\n

Trump himself has used Reagan\u2019s argument against Biden and others, so Trump knows the cautionary tale of Carter\u2019s presidency. She adds, however, that Carter ended his term with a 34 percent approval rating. Trump is now polling at an abysmal 32 percent, according to Quinnipiac.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd likely for many of the same reasons Carter finished where he did, ironically \u2014 high inflation, rising gas prices and a foreign policy crisis in Iran,\u201d said Cupp. \u201c\u2026 [But] when you move beyond the economic numbers, which are bad enough, the picture of Trump\u2019s America gets worse with every peek behind the MAGA curtain. In fact, it can feel at times like America has become a Third World country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018This is Trump\u2019s economy\u2019: Nobel winner butchers president\u2019s claims<\/a><\/p>\n

The nation is on the verge of losing its official measles elimination status, thanks to the administration\u2019s vaccine misinformation. We\u2019re also facing at least 11 foodborne illness outbreaks, including cyclospora outbreaks, listeria, salmonella and E. coli since Trump \u201cdownsized oversight agencies, dropped food facility inspections and stripped back mandatory reporting requirements at the federal Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s war in Iran has depleted American munitions up to 80 percent in some categories. There are reports of sailors at sea since November, jumping overboard to escape poor conditions and mental health concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is America \u2014 the superpower?\u201d demanded Cupp. \u201cWhere college grads can\u2019t find work, where housing is unaffordable for 75 percent of the population, where families must choose between paying rent or paying doctors bills? Where you can be shot dead for peacefully protesting? Where your government is shuttering important health agencies while spewing junk science about autism and Tylenol? Where our allies are skeptical of us, and our enemies no longer seem to fear us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Republicans are asking for two more years of control of it all. Who could possibly want more of this?\u201d Cupp asked. \u201c\u2026 \u2018Are you better off?\u2019 Are you kidding?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump prosecutor called out for flopping on pledge to bring fraud charges<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pundit S.E. Cupp questions the wisdom of setting President Donald Trump up with unfettered power for the second half of his term, especially considering the mess that his first two years have delivered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n'Are you better off?' 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Cupp questions the wisdom of setting President Donald Trump up with unfettered power for the second half of his term, especially considering the mess that his first two years have delivered.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4778\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-15T05:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"‘Are you better off?’ Conservative assails Trump in thundering takedown\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-15T05:06:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/c99ac488efc20536f0b0d0d4a3f36582.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4778\",\"name\":\"'Are you better off?' 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