How are Republicans split on affordability after losing the 2026 midterms?

Andrew Prokop of Vox says nearly every Republican now concedes the party did too little on affordability, but they disagree on why. Traditional free-market conservatives blame Trump's tariffs and deficit spending for higher prices and interest rates, and want spending cuts and free trade back. National populists say tariff effects are exaggerated and the real failure was a 2025 agenda built around a tax cut mostly for the rich, paid for by cutting Medicaid and SNAP.

• Utah senator John Curtis called for a return to the principled conservative values the party abandoned over the last decade.
• The populist camp argues the party should reject free-market dogma harder and build an agenda that helps families.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Today, Explained (2026-11-05). Read the whole episode summary →

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