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“Trusting the Republicans more on the economy at this point is like trusting Sean Combs to be your babysitter,” writes Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic, in his recent piece headlined, “At Long Last, Americans Are Starting to See the Truth About the GOP.”
“For decades now, the Republican Party has built its electoral success on myths and lies,” Tomasky adds. “Ronald Reagan was the last Republican president who your average person would say left the country better off than he found it.”
One could quibble about the legacy of George H.W. Bush, but it’s hard to dispute that the last two Republican presidents easily rank among the worst in American history. Their successors have each been handed a flaming bag of economic and cultural ruin and did commendable jobs putting out the fire, only to hand the reins to the man who will unequivocally go down as our worst president of all time (so far!), Donald J. Trump — whose second term is shaping up to be even more disastrous than the one that ended with mass death amid a pandemic he badly mismanaged.
Tomasky argues Democrats are missing a golden opportunity by not campaigning more aggressively on the obvious truth that from the presidency on down, the Republican Party has a cataclysmic record when it has power, especially in the 21st century. But messaging aside, he says he’s heartened by recent polling showing voters may finally be seeing the light.
“Jobs are just one factor. The performance of the stock market under Democrats is much, much stronger than under Republicans. The increases in median household income and amount by which they’ve reduced the deficit are much greater,” Tomasky told Public Notice. “The comparisons aren’t close, but you never hear any Democrats talk about it.”
“Why this is changing now is really simple and straightforward: The economy is bad, and there’s a Republican president,” he added.
We connected with Tomasky to talk about why voters have harbored false illusions about Republicans for so long, how the wreckage of Trump 2.0 is causing voters to second guess them, the importance of Democrats becoming fluent with the economic data that shows how much more effective their policies are, and much more.
A full transcript of Tomasky’s conversation with Public Notice contributor Thor Benson, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows.
Thor Benson
You point out that for the last few decades, voters have thought of Republicans as good stewards of the economy despite mountains of data showing exactly the opposite. What explains the disconnect?
Michael Tomasky
That perception exists for three reasons. The first is Republicans are just the party of business. They have been since the Industrial Revolution. Democrats were the party of labor. That’s pretty hardwired into people’s brains, and they see that most Wall Streeters and corporate honchos are Republicans and just take their cues from that.
The second reason is that Republicans talk a good game. They and their media allies say they’re pro-business and committed to free markets and all that stuff, and that sounds good to people.
The third reason, I think, is that Democrats do a terrible job of touting the kind of statistics that I talk about in my piece.
From 1989 to 2026, we’ve had Democratic presidents for 20 years and Republicans for 17.4 years. Care to hazard a guess as to the number of jobs created under Democrats vs. Republicans?
Answer: It’s 49.8 million versus 1.9 million. That isn’t a typo. Fifty million to two, basically. Democratic presidents have also done far better than Republicans on median household incomes, GDP rates, the Dow Jones index, and even deficit reduction. Dramatically so on deficit reduction.
I write in the column about speaking to a group of House Democrats a few years ago who seemed totally unfamiliar with these numbers. And jobs are just one factor.
The performance of the stock market under Democrats is much, much stronger than under Republicans. The increases in median household income and amount by which they’ve reduced the deficit are much greater. The comparisons aren’t close, but you never hear any Democrats talk about it.
Why this is changing now is really simple and straightforward: The economy is bad, and there’s a Republican president.
Thor Benson
But the economy was also bad at the end of Trump 1.0. Do you think voters are seeing this as a “fooled me once” situation?
Michael Tomasky
I think the perception that Republicans are the party of the economy is so ingrained in people’s brains that they just don’t connect the dots.
Look at the last three Republican presidents. One oversaw a double-dip recession with a savings and loans scandal that looted the Treasury. That was Bush I. Another oversaw the near meltdown of the whole global capitalist system. That was Bush II. And then the next presided over a pandemic-driven collapse. That was Trump I.
People just for whatever reason don’t see this pattern, or they think it’s a coincidence. But the problem is Democrats don’t point it out to them. I haven’t heard a Democrat say, “Look at this history.”
The last three Republican presidents have handed their Democratic successors an economic catastrophe, and the last three Democrats have had to do their best to clean it up. Why don’t Democrats ever say that? I think it would make a difference.
Thor Benson
In addition to Trump’s economic mismanagement, he’s also making a mess of the military. Do you think it’s breaking through that the people who talk about supporting the troops are doing the opposite?
Michael Tomasky
The USS Abraham Lincoln story is definitely getting through to people, though it’s hard to say to what extent. But the facts are clear. When people are trying to jump overboard, that’s pretty alarming.
People saw that Hegseth is, to put it charitably, play-acting at being secretary of defense. And then came the war.
I’ll never forget my reaction that morning of February 28. It was a Saturday morning. What? War? I mean, even Bush 43 spent months preparing people for an attack on Baghdad. This was just completely out of nowhere.
I think most everyone turned on the news that day and said, why are we doing this? And now the goal is just to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened. It’s insane.
Thor Benson
It seems that across multiple issues — small government, rule of law — Trump 2.0 flies in the face of the principles Republicans say they value.
Michael Tomasky
Rule of law is a great example. Trump’s lawlessness should be glaringly obvious to most people, and I think that’s breaking through.
Even family values. They’re supporting Max Miller despite terrible abuse allegations, and it’s not just Trump — it’s the whole party. People got to know who he is over the last few weeks and it’s really ugly and shocking stuff.
And it’s even worse when Republicans defend someone like Miller because they’re the ones who prattle on about God and family.
Thor Benson
On economics, Trump is taking government stakes in companies, he’s putting tariffs — which are a tax — on everything. None of this feels like what people expect from a Republican.
Michael Tomasky
I think during the campaign most people kind of heard what they wanted to hear. They were mad at the Democrats and Biden for inflation, but also for refusing to drop out of the race.
I felt all that at various times myself. But the problem in people’s analysis, of course, was their very short, in some cases nonexistent memories.
