1. American farmers and working-class

America farmers and working class contributed the bulk of Trump’s votes in the 2024 election. They hoped for better economy and living standard, they got horrific price increases and much harsher livelihood in return:

Expense	Price increase
Diesel—critical for farmers	+80.1%
Petrol (gasoline)	+41.6%
Household natural gas	+9.1%
Car maintenance and repairs	+12.3%
Electricity	+12.0%
Hospital services	+10.6%
Medical services	+5.8%
Rent	+5.2%
Groceries	+4.3%

Kentucky is one of America’s most reliably Republican states. Yet its famous bourbon industry has suffered badly from Trump’s trade confrontation with Canada and Europe.

• American whiskey exports fell 19% in 2025, a loss of approximately US$250 million.
  
• Canadian boycotts and European trade uncertainty damaged sales.
  
• Kentucky distillers were left holding inventories exceeding 16 million barrels.

A September 2026 Reuters investigation found that cancelled EV projects announced between January 2025 and August 2026 had promised approximately 27,000 jobs. About 87% of announced EV-related investments were in states Trump won in 2024.

Then Trump’s administration dismantled EV incentives, weakening demand and prompting companies to cancel or postpone factories.

Home builders initially hoped Trump’s administration would lower regulations and make housing construction cheaper.

Instead, his immigration crackdown removed or frightened away substantial numbers of construction workers, while tariffs pushed up material costs.

By October 2026:

• Up to two-thirds of surveyed builders reported labour shortages connected to immigration enforcement.
  
• Some locations experienced more than a doubling of framing labour costs.
  
• Construction delays and affordability pressures were worsening.

Rural America strongly supported Trump in 2024. Yet Trump’s major 2025 tax-and-spending legislation included enormous reductions in projected Medicaid funding, a programme on which rural healthcare providers depend heavily.

According to KFF, there is

• $137 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas over 10 years
  
• $50 billion reduction in rural healthcare funding over 5 years

Trump won Nevada in 2024 descissively. But his trade confrontation with Canada, combined with repeated remarks about annexing the country, helped generate hostility among Canadian tourists.

Las Vegas experienced a significant decline in 2025:

• Canadian visitors fell 17.4%, a reduction of approximately 252,400 visitors.
  
• Total Las Vegas visitation declined 7.5%, although other economic factors contributed to that wider decline.

2. Elon Musk

Musk spent approximately US$290 million supporting Trump and Republican causes during the 2024 election.

His close identification with Trump’s politics subsequently alienated prospective Tesla customers.

• Tesla’s European sales fell 33% in the first half of 2025.
  
• Trump’s administration eliminated the US$7,500 federal EV purchase tax credit.
  
• When Trump and Musk publicly fell out in June 2025, Tesla lost approximately US$150 billion in market value in one trading day.

3. Qatar

In 2025, Qatar offered Trump a luxurious Boeing 747-8, valued at approximately US$400 million, for use as Air Force One.

Then Trump’s war with Iran devastated Qatar’s energy exports.

• Qatar’s government revenue fell 42% in the first half of 2026.
  
• Iranian attacks damaged its Ras Laffan LNG facilities that takes 10 years to fix.
  
• Approximately 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity remained offline in October 2026.

4. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia lavished extraordinary hospitality on Trump, including ceremonial sword dances by the princes and enormous investment commitments.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hoped to transform Riyadh into a global centre for finance, technology, tourism and international business through Vision 2030.

Then the Iran war spread across the Gulf.

• Saudi Arabia’s economy is projected by the IMF to contract 3.3% in 2026.
  
• Houthi missiles struck Riyadh’s airport in October, killing at least 13 people and injuring hundreds.
  
• Saudi Aramco’s headquarters was also targeted.
  
• International travel, foreign investment and confidence in the kingdom’s security have all suffered.

Instead of the Middle East London and Silicon Valley, Riyadh’s image of being a no-go war zone cannot be changed in many years to come.

5. UAE

An investment firm controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a powerful member of the UAE royal family, agreed to invest US$500 million in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture before Trump returned to office.

The UAE also celebrated Trump’s May 2025 state visit with plans for US$1.4 trillion of investment in America over ten years.

Then came the Iran war.

Iranian attacks struck critical Gulf infrastructure, including the UAE’s Fujairah oil port. The IMF now projects that the UAE economy will contract 3.9% in 2026.

Forbes estimated in February 2026 that the above investment has already lost US$100 million. The UAE investors did not receive a share of future WLFI token-sale revenues, even though those sales were a major source of income for Trump’s family.

Like the Saudis, UAE wanted Dubai to be viewed by the world as a Middle East jewel in the crown, but Trump’s war turned it into a war zone.

6. Pakistan

On 21 June 2025, Pakistan announced that it would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his claimed role in ending a military confrontation with India.

On the very next day, after Trump’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, Pakistan condemned the attacks as violations of international law.

What an irony!

Due to the higher fuel price caused by Trump’s war, Pakistan government had to pay US$700 millions to its citizens as fuel subsidies, and the latest October IMF forecast puts Pakistan’s overall inflation at 7.1% in 2026 and 9.9% in 2027.

But…

There are only one group of people who have gained significant amount of wealth since 2024.

• Forbes estimates Trump’s personal fortune has grown by US$2.7 billion.
  
• His son Eric Trump was briefly a billionaire in 2025.
  
• Donald Trump Jr. was estimated to be worth US$500 million.
  
• His youngest son, 20-year-old Barron, amassed an estimated US$150 million, largely through cryptocurrency.

Reuters found that the family’s crypto ventures generated at least US$2.3 billion in profits while more than a million investors lost the same amount. The Trump family simply took this money from the pockets of the million investors who believed in them.

They treated them as ATMs and, in KGB’s terminology, useful idiots.

Let’s see in the mid-term election

But none of this should come as a surprise.

As early as March 2024, eight months before the election, in my article 評論彭斯、切尼的最新表態, and again in January 2025 in 美國開始匈牙利化的第一批信號, I predicted that no matter how much a demagogue like Trump promised you, once in power, he would pursue his own interests, not yours.

Let’s see how these ATMs vote in the coming midterm elections.

I’m not very optimistic.

If they had enough wisdom to wake up today, they probably wouldn’t have voted for a villain who attempted a coup to overturn a legitimate election, committed serious fraud, was a sexual predator and a rapist, and idolised some of the worst figures in human history, such as Putin and Kim Jong-un.

More likely, they will still happily volunteer to help the Trump family count the banknotes they rake in from deals in which these very supporters are sold out.