The US midterm elections on November 3 will provide the first major electoral test for Donald Trump in his second term. voters are also likely to judge the administration on several key economic promises made during the 2024 presidential campaign While the escalating Middle East war and the resulting rise in fuel prices have dominated headlines.
Making America affordable again was one of Trump’s most prominent campaign pledges. During the campaign, he promised to slash energy and electricity prices and bring down the cost of living for American households.
Trump’s agenda was built around lowering the cost of living, reviving manufacturing, extending tax cuts, shrinking government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and boosting domestic energy production through his “Drill, Baby, Drill” policy.
However, affordability has remained a challenge for the administration. Trump also pledged to create a smaller government, reduce bureaucracy and curb wasteful spending through DOGE. The initiative was presented as a vehicle to improve government efficiency and rein in Washington’s spending habits. If there is one area where the administration can point to a clear success, it is oil production.
Consumer inflation rose from 3% in January 2025, when Trump took office, to 3.7% in September 2026. Energy inflation jumped sharply from 1% to 20.4% during the same period, while electricity inflation increased from 1.9% to 4.4%, according to data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by Trump in July 2025, stands out as one of the administration’s most significant legislative achievements. The law permanently extended most of the key tax provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that were otherwise scheduled to expire after 2025.
Trump’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” message was a centrepiece of his energy policy, focused on expanding domestic oil and gas output.
