Trump turns from Iran to economy as GOP faces midterm headwinds

Kate Sullivan and Caitlin Reilly, Bloomberg News on Apr 16, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to take his economic pitch on the road to western U.S. states, as the White House grapples with an increasingly unpopular war with Iran ahead of the November midterm elections.

The president’s trip this week to Nevada and Arizona, two swing states that Trump carried in 2024, reflects a growing recognition inside the administration and among congressional Republicans that the party must remind voters of its economic accomplishments as affordability issues weigh heavily on American households.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump would seek to tout his cornerstone tax law during a Las Vegas roundtable event on Thursday and remind voters that Democrats uniformly opposed it.

“Democrats in Congress have proven over and over again that they are the affordability frauds who believe the government should keep more of the American people’s hard-earned money,” she told reporters at a Wednesday briefing.

The White House’s attempted domestic pivot comes as the Iran war continues to rattle financial markets and a diplomatic resolution remains elusive. Polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the war and blame him for rising gasoline prices.

One of the party’s biggest challenges, however, is Trump himself. The president frequently strays off topic and speaks about other issues, such as the war in Iran, his political enemies, the news media and his planned White House renovations, during economic events.

Several Republicans this week — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune — have called for Trump to come up with a plan to wind down the war, noting the strain facing consumers and farmers from the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil supplies.

Trump’s economic pitch could be a tough sell for voters already struggling with the cost of gas, health care and other goods. They are receiving tax refunds that are bigger than last year, but much smaller than Trump promised in the months leading up to filing season.

More people have collected tax refunds this year than last, and those refunds are averaging nearly $350 higher than in 2025, according to IRS data. But that’s only about one-third of the $1,000 average bump Trump pledged.

There are also early signs that taxpayers have barely noticed the boost. In a recent poll conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, only 27% of respondents said last year’s tax changes benefited them, while 24% said they hurt them and 38% said they didn’t see a difference.

“The reality is the tax law is a dud for the vast majority of working people,” Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, said Wednesday.

Nonetheless, Trump is expected to heavily tout one of the provisions in his tax bill — allowing some Americans to temporarily deduct tips from their federal tax bills — during his stop in Las Vegas.

That follows a photo op the White House staged on Monday, when a DoorDash driver delivered McDonald’s to Trump. Trump asked the driver whether she had benefited from his “no tax on tips” policy and, after a reporter inquired about the White House’s tipping practices, handed her $100 in cash.

Trump will then travel to Phoenix for an event Friday hosted by Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization that stages events on high school and college campuses.

The organization has long been a key mobilizing force for young conservative voters, a group Republicans are eager to energize heading into the midterms. The event will also carry an emotional backdrop: it comes months after the assassination of the group’s founder, Charlie Kirk, during a campus appearance in Utah.

Trump is expected to appear alongside Kirk’s widow, Erika, who has since taken over leadership of the organization and has sought to maintain its influence within conservative politics.