For months, Republicans have been telling themselves the same thing: Once they get President Donald Trump talking about the economy and tax cuts start boosting Americans’ bank accounts, voters will come around.
Las Vegas is supposed to be proof of concept.
President Donald Trump traveled to Nevada on Thursday for a roundtable with workers who have benefited from the GOP-backed tax breaks on overtime and tips. It was also his first time back in a swing state since the war in Iran broke out, despite plans for him to be on the campaign trail on a near-weekly basis.
The carefully staged tableau was designed to cut through the noise of a turbulent week and land a simple message about kitchen-table economics. Instead, it risked becoming the latest illustration of why Republicans have become increasingly anxious that neither the message nor the messenger has broken through.
“The president is the party’s single most powerful messenger, and therefore Republicans’ midterm prospects rest on his ability to reset the economic narrative,” said Ken Spain, a Republican consultant.
Spain described the benefits of tax cuts as “a real messaging opportunity for the White House.” Still, “message discipline” alone may not be enough to stem the impact of other issues, including inflation, gas prices and tariffs, he added. The war in Iran, along with other priorities, “are all likely to remain headline issues for the next several months,” Spain said.
The challenges confronting the GOP’s economic argument are, at this point, well-catalogued inside the party — and the frustration has been barely concealed. Trump rarely has stayed on message or focused on the economy. When he has stayed on message, Americans have not necessarily bought it: He has talked of a “Golden Age” for America or called affordability concerns a “hoax.” And after months of attempted pivots to economic themes, Republicans have struggled to explain what, exactly, will be different this time.
A person close to the Trump administration who was granted anonymity to speak candidly told MS NOW that most staffers have focused on the urgent issues in front of them from week to week, and that panic about the upcoming midterm elections has not yet set in. The feeling within the White House, according to this person, is that if messaging can get tighter closer to November, and Republicans can all row in the right direction, the GOP has a fighting chance of keeping both majorities.
Still, major economic trends have not cooperated with that effort. Rising fuel costs have eaten into — and in many households, eclipsed — gains from the administration’s tax changes, according to economists. In Nevada, where commuter traffic is heavy and drivers pay some of the nation’s highest gas prices, that gap has become especially visible. The irony of staging an economic victory lap in a city where voters are paying close to five dollars a gallon was not lost on locals.
“I’m making more than before, but it feels like every dollar is shrinking,” said Bustam Tomy, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident. He’s a green card holder, but his wife voted for Trump in 2024, and he considers himself politically conservative.
“You’re doing good if you walk into a grocery store and don’t drop $100 at the cash register,” Kevin Brooks, a 68-year-old Uber driver in Las Vegas, told MS NOW. “With gas and your bills and everything now, I think the ‘no tax on tips’ is a good thing, but it doesn’t put a big dent into our financial things that we are spending on.”
But Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn shortly before departing for Nevada that gas prices are “not very high.”
That gap, between the policy Republicans are selling and the prices voters are paying, is exactly what has party strategists and lawmakers on edge as November approaches. And it’s why the distractions that have dogged the White House in recent days have so irked many Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., offered a window into the frustration this week when asked about the White House’s recent controversies, including a public confrontation with the pope that eclipsed much of Trump’s message window.
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“I’d stay focused on the economic issues, pocketbook issues that most Americans care about,” Thune said.
What he didn’t say — and what many Republicans throughout Washington are saying privately — is that they have been waiting months for that focus. They are not sure it’s coming, but they remain hopeful it will arrive.
“There’s a real opportunity to focus on what’s already been delivered and clearly lay out what comes next, grounded in tangible results people can see and measure,” a Republican operative, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, told MS NOW. “Democrats struggled to do that because they’ve never had a credible set of solutions. At times, it would be helpful to see that same disciplined focus consistently reflected across the board, which I think we’ll see from the president soon.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Republicans are delivering real relief for working families, from historic tax refunds to commonsense economic wins that put more money back in their pockets,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “After years of Democrats’ reckless policies that drove up costs to record levels, voters see the difference and trust Republicans to keep the economy moving in the right direction.”
For some voters, though, the window for making that case may already be closing.
“Whatever he promises, it’s not happening,” said Victoria Partridge, a 59-year-old Uber driver in Las Vegas. She told MS NOW that she voted for Trump in 2024, but now she regrets her vote.
“Everything is opposite of what he was promising. So now, I’m just done with both Republicans and Democrats. Everybody just [keeps] promising, but never deliver,” she said.
Soorin Kim contributed to this article
Akayla Gardner is a White House correspondent for MS NOW.
Jacqueline Alemany is co-anchor of "The Weekend" and a Washington correspondent for MS NOW.
Jake Traylor is a White House correspondent for MS NOW.