Dear MAGA: Here's What You Actually Voted For
Photo by Encal Media on Unsplash
You were promised the world. Lower prices, no new wars, America respected again. Fifteen months into Trump’s second term, let’s check the receipts. Not the excuses, not the spin, just what you were promised versus what you’re actually getting.
The Economic Promises: “I Will End Inflation on Day One”
Trump didn’t just promise to slow inflation; he promised to end it immediately and bring prices down dramatically. He pledged to slash energy prices by 50% within 12-18 months and make groceries cheaper.
What you’re getting: Prices remain stubbornly high, and in many cases are rising faster. Inflation registered at 2.4% in February 2026. Utility costs have increased 35% overall, with a 12% jump during his first year alone. Your grocery bills? MAGA supporters in focus groups are saying, “My grocery bills remain unchanged, if not higher than before”. doggett.house
The Tariff Disaster
Trump claimed his tariffs would hurt other countries and bring back American manufacturing. Federal Reserve research shows that nearly 90% of tariff costs are borne by U.S. businesses and consumers, not by foreign countries. Food costs are projected to increase by $1,500 annually for typical households due solely to tariffs. Trump’s agricultural tariffs hit all 50 states, crushing exports and driving up food prices.
When automakers raised prices after tariff announcements, Trump said: “I couldn’t care less if they raise prices”. That’s your money, he doesn’t care about.
Now that the tariffs have been ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS, those funds have to be returned, but not to you, the consumer who actually paid them. The refunds go to the corporations that not only raised prices on us and profited, but will now be made whole again. You paid twice: once in higher prices, and again when those corporations get their refund while you get nothing.
Credit Card Debt Crisis
Trump promised to cap credit card interest rates at 10% to protect working Americans from the 25-30% rates they were paying. This never happened. Americans now owe an all-time high of $1.23 trillion in credit card debt, with over 12% of that debt 90+ days past due, approaching Great Recession levels. Nearly 9 million people are in default on student loans totaling $92 billion, with two-thirds living in states Trump won.
The Tax Cut That Wasn’t Really
Trump did deliver the “no tax on tips” deduction, but it’s temporary, only through 2028, and comes with income caps. The larger tax package added $3.4 trillion to federal deficits over 10 years. So your tip deduction expires in two years, but the debt burden lasts forever.
“No More Wars” - The Biggest Lie
For a decade, Trump repeated one promise: “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars”. He ran his entire 2024 campaign as “the president of peace.”
What you’re getting: Within one year of his second term, Trump ordered military strikes on seven different countries. By March 2026, just 13 months in, he launched “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran, a full-scale war with “major combat operations” and no end date.
The Iran Catastrophe
Trump has issued apocalyptic threats against Iranian civilians. He posted on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”. He threatened to bomb “each and every one” of Iran’s power plants “probably simultaneously” and celebrated destroying a bridge near Tehran that killed at least 13 civilians and injured 95. The U.S. has hit over 13,000 targets in Iran, including a girls’ school that killed more than 100 children.
Amnesty International condemned these threats as revealing “a staggering level of cruelty and disregard for human life”. This is the “no new wars” president threatening to wipe out an entire civilization.
Rolling Out Red Carpets for Putin While Alienating Allies
On August 15, 2025, Trump literally rolled out a red carpet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska for Vladimir Putin. Trump stood waiting on the tarmac, applauded as Putin approached, and the two exchanged “warm handshakes and smiles” on a platform branded “ALASKA 2025”. This was a “notable moment for Putin, who has been largely isolated by many Western nations since Russia’s extensive invasion of Ukraine”.
The summit ended without any agreement, and Trump later suggested Ukraine should “cede territory” to Russia. Meanwhile, Trump has:
Threatened military action to take Greenland from Denmark, saying there’s “no going back.”
Threatened to take over Canada
Alienated European allies to the point where French President Emmanuel Macron warned about Trump creating “a world without rules.”
So Putin gets literal red carpets while our NATO allies get threatened with invasion. Make it make sense.
Threatening Violence Against Americans
Trump’s violent rhetoric isn’t reserved for Iran. In November 2025, he accused six Democratic members of Congress, most of them military veterans, of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL” and posted that it’s “punishable by DEATH”. He wrote that they should be “ARRESTED AND PUT ON MILITARY TRIAL” and that “an example MUST BE SET”. NBC news
Their crime? Releasing a video reminding military personnel they’re duty-bound not to obey unlawful orders. Senator Chris Murphy said Trump’s posts “endanger all our lives” and “could lead to the death of many of us”.
Trump routinely calls domestic political opponents “Radical Left Lunatics, Insurrectionists, Agitators, and Thugs”. White House aide Stephen Miller declared the Democratic Party “is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization” and called Democrats “evil”. USA Today
So threatening to execute sitting members of Congress is fine, but opposing Trump makes you a radical lunatic deserving death? How is this the “law and order” you voted for?
Building a Gilded Palace While You Struggle
While you’re dealing with record-high grocery bills and credit card debt, Trump has spent 15 months focused on vanity projects.
He commissioned a ballroom for the White House that started at $200 million but has now ballooned to $400 million, covering 90,000 square feet to hold 900 guests. Trump claimed private donations would cover it. But now? Republicans in the House are working on a bill to fund it with taxpayer dollars. So much for those private donations.
He added gold embellishments throughout the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, including “tiny golden cherubs adorning the doorways sourced directly from Mar-a-Lago” and a gilded presidential seal on the ceiling above the Resolute Desk.
He paved over the historic Rose Garden, removing all grass and replacing it with stone paving to mimic Mar-a-Lago’s patio, complete with yellow-and-white striped umbrellas. His reason? The grass “just doesn’t work” because it gets wet when it rains and is too soft for high heels.
Let that sink in: A $400 million ballroom you’re now being asked to pay for, while he tells you he couldn’t care less if corporations raise your prices. This is what he’s prioritizing while you can’t afford groceries.
Slapping His Name and Face on Everything
Trump has systematically rebranded federal institutions with his name and image:
The John F. Kennedy Center is now “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The U.S. Institute of Peace is now “Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace.”
The Gulf of Mexico was renamed “Gulf of America” on day one
National Parks passes feature Trump’s face
Limited-edition U.S. passports feature Trump’s face and signature in gold
U.S. currency will feature Trump’s signature, the first sitting president to appear on paper money
A 24-karat gold commemorative coin with Trump’s image
A House Democrat introduced a bill this month to ban sitting presidents from naming public buildings after themselves. That this is even necessary tells you everything.
The Cognitive Dissonance
Here’s what I genuinely don’t understand: How do you reconcile these contradictions?
You voted for lower prices, but defend tariffs that raised your grocery bills by $1,500 a year. You voted for “no new wars,” but make excuses when he bombs seven countries and starts a full-scale war with Iran. You voted for “America First,” but cheer when he literally rolls out red carpets for Putin while threatening to invade Canada and Greenland.
You voted against “endless wars” and got the most aggressive first-year military action in modern history. You voted for economic relief and ended up with record credit card debt. You voted for a president who’d fight for working Americans and got a guy who said “I couldn’t care less” when companies raised prices on you.
What Did You Actually Vote For?
If you didn’t vote to make your own life materially worse, and I don’t believe you did, then what are you actually getting?
The only campaign promise fully delivered is the cruelty itself. The threats against Congress members. The apocalyptic violence against Iranian civilians. The self-glorification while you struggle. The gold cherubs and $400 million ballrooms, while your credit card debt hits record highs.
Some of you seem to think you’re winning. I’m genuinely asking: what are you winning? What tangible benefit are you receiving that you actually voted for?
Because from where I’m standing, the only people winning are Putin (who got a literal red carpet), Trump (who gets his face on everything federal and a rising net-worth, which is currently sitting at $6.5 billion), and the corporations raising prices while Trump says he doesn’t care.
You deserve better than this. You voted for better than this. The question is: when will you demand it?