Washington Has a Trump Obsession. America Has Bills to Pay.

A new poll reveals a gap between the political conversation and the problems voters want solved.

Tom Hicks | October 23, 2026

Editorial Note

Washington has an extraordinary talent for arguing about everything except what’s keeping people awake at night.

A new poll suggests Americans have noticed.

So have I. And I’ve got a few things to say about it.

Apparently, the Rest of America Didn’t Get Washington’s Memo

You ever stand at the grocery store checkout, watch the numbers climb, and wonder whether somebody slipped a fucking microwave into your cart when you weren’t looking?

Four bags of groceries. Maybe five, if you got reckless and bought fresh fruit. Then you get home, open the electric bill, and discover the utility company apparently thinks you’re operating a steel mill in the basement.

That’s the stuff people talk about around the kitchen table. Groceries, insurance, whether the car can survive another winter without requiring a financial intervention, and whether there’s enough left after paying the bills to do something extravagant, like order a pizza without checking the bank balance first.

Meanwhile, Washington is having another argument about Donald Trump.

Of course it is. At this point, I suspect half the political establishment wakes up every morning, checks its pulse, and then checks to see what Trump said while everybody was asleep. The other half is busy figuring out how to defend it.

I’m not suggesting Trump doesn’t deserve scrutiny. Christ, the man generates enough material to keep a congressional committee occupied until the sun burns out. But somewhere between the investigations, the campaign speeches, the televised outrage, and the endless political dick-measuring contests, Washington seems to have misplaced the people it’s supposed to represent.

A new Associated Press-NORC poll makes that disconnect difficult to ignore.

Roughly eight in ten registered voters want the next Congress to make lowering the cost of living one of its highest priorities. About seven in ten want it to prioritize ending the war with Iran. Investigating the Trump administration comes in around four in ten, while supporting Trump’s agenda draws about two in ten.

Think about that. Americans are looking at their bank accounts and a war overseas, while the political establishment remains fascinated by the same man who’s been dominating the conversation for more than a decade.

The poll allowed respondents to name multiple priorities, so it isn’t an either-or choice. But the contrast is still striking.

Apparently, the American people didn’t get the memo that everything is supposed to revolve around Donald Trump.

Here’s What Voters Actually Said

Rounded figures from the October 8–12 AP-NORC poll. Respondents could select multiple priorities. Chart reconstructed from reported figures rather than reproduced from AP-NORC.

What voters want the next Congress to prioritize.

There it is. No complicated political theory required. People want their government to deal with the problems affecting their lives.

Which apparently becomes a radical concept once somebody gets elected to Congress and discovers the television cameras.

The Grocery Bill Doesn’t Care Which Party You Belong To

Here’s something Washington might find surprising: Republicans buy groceries. Democrats buy groceries. Independents buy groceries. Even the guy who insists he doesn’t give a shit about politics eventually has to buy toilet paper.

The checkout register doesn’t ask who you voted for. It just tells you how much you owe, and you can stand there explaining your economic philosophy until the frozen peas thaw. The cashier still wants $147.63.

That’s what makes the affordability numbers so revealing. Voters across party lines are feeling the pressure, even if they disagree about who’s responsible and what should be done.

And there’s plenty to argue about. Taxes, tariffs, corporate pricing, housing, health care, wages, and federal spending all deserve serious discussion. What doesn’t deserve another minute of anybody’s time is the familiar Washington routine of declaring economic victory while millions of people are wondering where the hell the money went.

Every administration has its favorite statistics. Employment numbers, stock market records, inflation rates, consumer confidence. Some of those figures matter enormously, but try explaining a record stock market to somebody who just discovered that a routine trip to the supermarket costs what a decent weekend getaway used to.

I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.

Congress can’t magically restore yesterday’s prices, and anyone promising otherwise is selling snake oil with a campaign logo on the bottle. But lawmakers can make choices that affect household costs, and voters are entitled to know what those choices are supposed to accomplish.

Not another speech about how terrible the other party is. Not another round of finger-pointing dressed up as economic policy.

An actual fucking plan.

I’m not expecting miracles. I’ve been around long enough to know that economic problems don’t disappear because somebody signs a bill in front of a roomful of applauding politicians.

But there’s a difference between acknowledging that a problem is difficult and treating the people living with it like an inconvenient interruption.

When somebody is choosing between groceries and a prescription, telling them whose fault it is might make a terrific campaign commercial. It doesn’t pay for either one.

Then There’s Iran. That’s Not Exactly a Side Issue.

The other number that jumped off the page was the seven in ten voters who want Congress to prioritize ending the war with Iran.

Seven in ten. That’s not a handful of antiwar activists making noise outside the Capitol. That’s a substantial majority of registered voters telling Washington that the war matters to them, and they’d appreciate somebody treating it like something more than another opportunity to sound tough on television.

War has a peculiar way of becoming abstract when politicians discuss it. Strategy, deterrence, regional stability, military objectives. The language is polished, the maps are impressive, and everybody sounds terribly authoritative.

Meanwhile, real people are getting killed.

American service members have families waiting for them. Iranian civilians have families trying to survive. And the people making decisions in Washington have an obligation to explain what they’re trying to accomplish and what it’s going to take to get there.

What’s the objective? What does an acceptable end to the conflict look like? Is diplomacy being pursued seriously? What happens afterward?

These aren’t trick questions, although judging by some political interviews, you’d think asking them was an act of treason.

Congress controls the purse strings and has constitutional responsibilities concerning war. That ought to mean something more than waiting for the administration to issue a press release and then deciding whether to applaud.

If lawmakers support the military strategy, explain why. If they oppose it, explain what they’d do differently. If they believe the war can end through negotiations, tell us what that might require.

But spare me the recycled bullshit about sending messages and demonstrating resolve.

A message to whom? About what? And what happens after everybody receives the fucking message?

U.S. military aircraft — illustrative photograph. Not verified as an image from the Iran war.

Ending a war responsibly isn’t necessarily simple. There may be competing security interests, difficult negotiations, and consequences nobody can predict with certainty.

Fine. Talk about them. Treat the public like adults capable of understanding that the world is complicated.

What I don’t want is another politician delivering a heroic speech while carefully avoiding the question of how this thing ends.

Because unlike a campaign commercial, you can’t just fade to black when the bombs stop making good television.

Accountability Isn’t a Luxury Item

Now we get to the finding that’s bound to make some people uncomfortable.

Only about four in ten voters place investigating the Trump administration among Congress’s highest priorities.

Before anybody starts celebrating that as a mandate to stop asking questions, don’t get carried away. The poll doesn’t say Americans oppose investigations. It says other concerns rank higher.

And frankly, I understand that.

You can believe an administration needs serious scrutiny while also wondering why your electric bill looks like the national debt.

About six in ten Democratic voters identify investigations as a high priority, although affordability and ending the war rank higher even among Democrats.

That doesn’t make accountability unimportant. It means voters are capable of caring about more than one thing at a time, a concept that apparently baffles a political establishment determined to reduce every issue to a loyalty test.

If federal officials abused their authority, misused public money, or broke the law, investigate them. Follow the evidence wherever it leads. I don’t care whether the person sitting in the Oval Office is a Republican, a Democrat, or somebody who wandered in looking for the men’s room.

But there’s a difference between serious oversight and political theater, and Washington has become awfully fond of the latter.

A congressional hearing that uncovers wrongdoing is valuable. A hearing that establishes facts, produces useful legislation, or leads to legitimate legal action serves a purpose.

A hearing where everybody spends six hours yelling at each other so their communications directors can extract thirty seconds for social media?

Congratulations. You’ve produced another episode of Congressional Assholes Behaving Badly.

Republicans have used investigations as political weapons. Democrats have been accused of doing the same. The answer isn’t to abandon oversight; it’s to insist that oversight actually accomplish something.

Bring the evidence. Question the witnesses. Establish the facts. If laws were broken, pursue the appropriate remedies.

But spare me the fucking performance.

The country has enough television shows. It needs a government.

Here’s Where the Poll Gets Really Interesting

Another is finding worth lingering over, particularly for anyone convinced that every Republican voter wants Congress to spend the next two years carrying Trump’s agenda around on a velvet pillow.

Only about four in ten Republican voters identify supporting his agenda as one of Congress’s highest priorities.

That doesn’t mean the others oppose him. It means their political lives may involve concerns beyond whatever Donald Trump wants this afternoon.

Imagine that.

The distinction between MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans is substantial. Roughly six in ten MAGA Republicans prioritize supporting the administration’s agenda, compared with about two in ten Republicans who don’t identify with MAGA.

On the Democratic side, voters who identify with democratic socialism place greater emphasis on investigating the administration than other Democrats do.

In other words, the parties aren’t nearly as uniform as their loudest representatives would have you believe.

Political television loves dividing America into two enormous tribes, each supposedly thinking, voting, and reacting in perfect unison. It’s convenient, easy to explain, and frequently wrong.

People are messier than that.

Someone can support Trump and still think Congress should concentrate on grocery prices. Someone can despise Trump and believe another round of congressional investigations shouldn’t consume every waking minute. Somebody else might want investigations, economic legislation, and an end to the war, preferably before the next ice age.

That isn’t confusion. That’s how normal human beings think.

The political industry has spent years encouraging Americans to treat party affiliation like a personality transplant. Apparently, once you register Republican or Democrat, you’re supposed to surrender your independent judgment at the door.

Well, fuck that.

If the poll tells us anything, it’s that voters aren’t necessarily following the script Washington wrote for them.

And maybe that’s why so many politicians seem determined to ignore what they’re saying.

U.S. House chamber

Congress Has More Than One Job. It Should Act Like It.

Here’s where I part company with anyone who thinks these numbers mean Congress should simply forget Trump and concentrate entirely on the economy.

No. That’s not the job, either.

Congress can investigate misconduct while working on economic legislation. It can debate military policy while addressing the budget. It can hold the executive branch accountable while passing laws that make a measurable difference in people’s lives.

That’s not asking too much. That’s the fucking job description.

What we’ve become accustomed to, unfortunately, is a Congress that behaves as though every issue must be converted into a partisan cage match before anybody is allowed to do anything useful.

One party proposes something. The other party announces that civilization will collapse if it passes. Everybody runs to the cameras, campaign donations roll in, and the actual problem sits in the corner wondering whether anyone remembers why they started arguing.

Then comes the election, when the same people promise to return to Washington and fix the mess they’ve spent years helping create.

You have to admire the nerve.

Another AP-NORC survey released October 15 found that eight in ten voters wanted substantial change or a complete overhaul in how the country is run. People may disagree about what that change should look like, but the appetite for something different is hard to miss.

And this is where I start losing patience.

Every election cycle, candidates tell us they’re fighting for working families, defending our freedoms, protecting our future, and standing up for ordinary Americans. They say it with such conviction you’d almost think somebody had just introduced them to ordinary Americans five minutes before the speech.

Then they get elected, discover the joys of committee assignments and television appearances, and somehow the people who sent them there become supporting characters in a never-ending political drama.

I’m not naïve enough to expect Congress to suddenly become a gathering of selfless public servants who put aside every disagreement and join hands around the Capitol reflecting pool.

Hell, I’d settle for lawmakers who occasionally remembered that winning an argument isn’t the same thing as solving a problem.

Because somewhere tonight, somebody is sitting at a kitchen table with a stack of bills, trying to decide what can wait until payday. Somebody else is worried about a family member serving overseas. Another person wants answers about what the government has been doing in their name.

Different concerns. Different priorities. All legitimate.

The next Congress will have plenty of opportunities to show whether it understands that.

And when the campaign signs come down, the television cameras move on, and the latest political scandal gets replaced by the next one, those bills will still be sitting on the table.

They’re still due.

Maybe Washington could start there.

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The Bullshit Detector

💩 Misleading · 💩💩 Distorted · 💩💩💩 False

💩💩💩💩 Fabricated/manipulative · 💩💩💩💩💩 Potentially dangerous

1. The Eiffel Tower’s Miraculous Disappearance

Claim: Viral videos show the Eiffel Tower burning and collapsing during October protests in Paris.

Bullshit: 💩💩💩

Why: The Eiffel Tower was still standing, open to visitors, and visible on live webcams when the claim circulated. Lead Stories found visual glitches and AI-detection results indicating the footage was fabricated. The protests were real. The collapsing landmark wasn’t. Read the fact-check.

You Can’t Make This Shit Up: You’d think the Eiffel Tower collapsing might attract a little attention in France. A news bulletin, perhaps. Maybe somebody calling the fire department.

But apparently we’re supposed to believe one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks fell over, and the only people who noticed were the folks forwarding a video on social media.

The really depressing part isn’t that somebody made the damn thing. It’s that people shared it without spending ten seconds checking whether Paris still had an Eiffel Tower.

2. The Texas Student Organization That Apparently Didn’t Exist

Claim: Flyers mailed to Texas homes came from the “Texas Transgender Student Union” and represented organizations serving transgender young people.

Bullshit: 💩💩💩💩

Why: Four organizations named in the flyers denied creating, authorizing, or distributing them. Lead Stories found no evidence of an operating student organization under that name, and the return address led to a commercial mailbox. The actual sender remains unidentified. Read the investigation.

The Part That Gets Me: Somebody mailed actual flyers to actual homes, using the names of organizations that say they had absolutely nothing to do with them.

That’s a particularly nasty kind of misinformation. It doesn’t just circulate a false claim. It puts words in other people’s mouths and leaves them trying to clean up the mess.

Whoever sent those things knew somebody would be furious. Whether that was the objective hasn’t been established, but the result was predictable enough.

3. The Presidential Sauna Party

Claim: The official White House social media account posted an image of Donald Trump sitting in a sauna surrounded by five shirtless men.

Bullshit: 💩💩💩

Why: Lead Stories traced the supposed screenshot to a social media account known for satire. The fact-checker found no matching post on the official White House account or in archived copies, and image-analysis tools identified the picture as AI-generated. Read the fact-check.

Oh, For Fuck’s Sake: Five shirtless men, Donald Trump, and a presidential sauna.

Somewhere, somebody looked at that picture and thought, “Yep, that looks like something the White House would post.”

I don’t know which part is funnier: the idea that somebody invented this thing or the possibility that people looked at it and didn’t immediately ask why the president was apparently hosting a diplomatic summit at a Turkish bath.

I’m not even going to speculate about the dress code.

Elsewhere at Tom Hicks Media

If Washington’s daily circus has you questioning the future of civilization, What The Hell? offers a reminder that humanity has been spectacularly ridiculous for centuries. Chart Collision revisits the hits, misses, and memories behind the music, while Lotus Purrspective examines human behavior through the eyes of a cat who has very little reason to be impressed.

Panic Room Sports brings attitude and analysis to the games we love. Rabbit Ears Classic TV returns to the shows and commercials that helped raise a generation, and The Backlot Ghost explores the movies, performances, and Hollywood stories that refuse to stay buried.

One Question

If the next Congress could make meaningful progress on just one issue in its first six months, what would you want that issue to be?

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