LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Likely Michigan voters heading into November 2026 are convinced that Donald Trump’s tariffs are the reason their grocery bills look like ransom notes. According to the latest EPIC-MRA poll 64% of participants say the presidents’ tariffs drove prices up – despite the small detail that prices surged under Biden and simply never came back down.
It’s like blaming the new homeowner for the hole in the roof the last guy left behind. Nevertheless, even 34% of Republicans and a whopping 73% of independents say tariffs are to blame for rising prices. And Democrats? Ninety-two percent point the finger at President Trump – hardly shocking given the party’s long-running anti-Trump messaging.
Bad vibes for upcoming elections.
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The same poll shows 51% of voters think the economy has worsened over the past year and 56% view Trump negatively. That makes messaging a full-contact sport for Michigan Republicans, who must decide whether to hitch their wagon to the Trump train or navigate the 2026 midterms alone. Either way, they’ll need to figure out how to stop letting Democrats sell Trump’s tariffs and policies as the boogeyman for Biden-era prices if they want to win their elections.
EPIC-MRA pollster Bernie Porn says, “The economic numbers and the tariffs, they are going to be key messaging elements for the Democrats. One would think they have the potential to have a big impact on the election.”
The truth about high prices.
Prices didn’t suddenly spike because of tariffs – the surge actually began in mid-2021, according to many economic experts. The initial driver was a global supply-chain mess triggered by COVID. Factory shutdowns, clogged ports, and shortages in key components like microchips meant fewer goods were available just as demand returned.
At the same time, Americans were shifting their spending from services to goods as pandemic restrictions eased, putting even more pressure on a strained supply system. Labor shortages in 2021 and 2022 pushed wages higher, increasing business costs that were passed on to consumers.
How Biden-era stimulus and supply strains sent inflation surging.
Layered onto that were the effects of massive federal stimulus (government spending) from the Biden administration and easy monetary policy, which added fuel to an already tight market – though most economic analyses still point to supply-side constraints as the primary cause. Inflation accelerated sharply through 2021 and ultimately peaked around mid-2022, topping out at roughly 9% year-over- year. Current inflation is only sitting at 3.0% for the 12 months ending September 2025 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Blaming tariffs won’t fix prices that never came back down.
In the end, pinning today’s price pain on Trump’s tariffs ignores the real culprit: a perfect storm of Biden-era inflation and shrinkflation that never rolled back, leaving consumers still paying more for less in a market that adjusted upward and refused to come back down.
Trump tries to undo the damage of Biden price surges.
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And while voters are busy blaming tariffs, Trump is trying to ease the problem by rolling back levies on beef, coffee, and tropical fruits to ease grocery costs – a move that shows the White House feels the pressure to deliver relief, even though the price spikes took root years earlier during the Biden-era surge. By peeling back his own signature tariffs, Trump is trying to blunt voter frustration at the checkout aisle.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett explained how President Trump’s decision to roll back tariffs on these items will help ease household costs even though inflation has been building up during the previous administration.
Hassett claimed that purchasing power dropped by about $3,000 under Joe Biden because wages failed to keep up with prices, and that under Trump it has already increased by around $1,200. Hassett emphasized that increasing supply and global competition are cutting costs and pointed to a significant federal deficit reduction this year – nearly $400 billion – as part of the anti-inflation strategy.
Additionally, Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, forecasts that the American economy will begin a “substantial acceleration” in the first half of 2026, particularly in the first and second quarters – pointing to falling energy and interest costs, and rising real incomes as inflation bends downward.
