🧩 BND Motif Index · M184
The buck stops here
When prices rise or the economy sours, the person in charge is the one who did it, and voters should hold him to account.
🗣️ Arguments🗂️ Accountability🗂️ Pocketbook
- 30claims filed under it
- 6left shows it came up on
- 4center shows it came up on
- 5right shows it came up on
- 6claims retold online
- 1fact-checker
⚠️ A story people tell, not a claim that it's true.
A motif is the shape of a story as its tellers tell it, named the way a folklorist names a tale type, so the same story told about other people, by the other side or in another year lands in the same place. Some of the claims below are true, many are false. Arguing against a story is often a story of its own, its answer (Voter fraud is answered by Voter suppression, Lawfare by No one is above the law), and we file it there; where no answer has a motif yet, the arguments against a story sit with its tellings.
🪜 Its family
what it rests on, what rests on it, and the motifs that answer it
⤵️ under it: 🧩 It's the economy, stupid 🧩 The debt clock
↔️ answers and mirrors:
- 🧩 Taking credit mirror: blamed for the bad, crediting yourself for the good
⏱️ answered 72 days after this was first told here (2026-07-25 → 2026-10-05)
🔗 goes with: 🧩 Backfiring policy 🧩 Blame the messenger 🧩 In this economy? 🧩 Pain at the pump 🧩 Passing the buck 🧩 Ted Cruz is in Cancun 🧩 The last guy 🧩 Work horse not a show horse
🎙️ Who it came up with
the shows we follow where its claims came up, by the show's lean
"Came up on" means one of its claims was heard on the show: told, reported or argued against. We don't yet mark which. Show leans are our own grouping of the shows we transcribe.
📰 In the news
the stories its claims were told about, the most told first (matched by our tools, so a link can be wrong)
- 📰 U.S. trade deficit widens in August 2026-10-06 to 2026-10-07
- 📰 Trump lifts restrictions on red-dyed diesel for on-road use 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-09
- 📰 Trump's oil and gas investments gained millions during the Iran war 2026-10-26 to 2026-10-27
🧶 Its claims
what's been told in this shape, newest first, in our words, with where each was heard
- 2026-10-27 “Donald Trump started an illegal war with Iran to increase his personal wealth through oil and gas stocks while Americans suffer from high gas prices.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-26 “Trump's policies are directly responsible for driving up the cost of everything.”
🎙️ WSJ What's News 🎙️ David Pakman Show (podcast) - 2026-10-24 “Americans have lost faith in their economic leadership.”
🎙️ To the Contrary with Charlie Sykes - 2026-10-22 “Peggy Flanagan has presided over a period of decline in Minnesota.”
🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton - 2026-10-21 “Trump's approval rating is tied directly to gas prices.”
🎙️ Breaking Points 🎙️ Forum (KQED) - 2026-10-21 “Trump's decision to go to war with Iran caused oil prices to spike.”
🎙️ The Daily (NYT) 🎙️ The Young Turks (podcast) 🎙️ The Adam Mockler Show - 2026-10-19 “High tariffs and corruption are harder for Republicans to defend when the economy is bad and gas prices are high.”
🎙️ Breaking Points - 2026-10-17 “Donald Trump's cost-cutting efforts failed to prevent the U.S. budget deficit from reaching nearly $2 trillion.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-16 “Inflation is worsening because the Biden administration's policies have made life less affordable.”
🎙️ The Dan Bongino Show 🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton 🎙️ The Jesse Kelly Show 🎙️ Verdict with Ted Cruz - 2026-10-11 “The massive stimulus at the end of COVID caused the high inflation.”
🎙️ The MeidasTouch Podcast - 2026-10-10 “Inflation was higher under Joe Biden than it has been under Trump.”
🎙️ The Dan Bongino Show 🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton 🎙️ The Jesse Kelly Show 🎙️ Verdict with Ted Cruz - 2026-10-09 “The Biden administration oversaw much higher inflation rates than the current economic state.”
🎙️ The Dan Bongino Show 🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton 🎙️ The Jesse Kelly Show 🎙️ Verdict with Ted Cruz - 2026-10-09 “Trump is responsible for over 30% of the national debt.”
🎙️ The MeidasTouch Podcast 🎙️ Breaking Points - 2026-10-09 “Inflation and prices are objectively higher under Trump than they were at the end of the Biden administration.”
🎙️ The MeidasTouch Podcast - 2026-10-07 “Trump's tariffs are failing and causing the U.S. trade deficit to increase, contrary to his claims.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-07 “President Trump signed an executive order to provide tax relief on diesel fuel, allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel for highway use and deferring the federal diesel excise tax.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-07 “Trump's trade wars have caused the price of many goods to increase.”
🎙️ The Daily (NYT) 🎙️ The Young Turks (podcast) 🎙️ The Adam Mockler Show 🎙️ The Kyle Kulinski Show - 2026-10-06 “Gas prices are currently lower than the peak seen during the Biden administration but remain high on average.”
🎙️ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton 🎙️ The Young Turks (podcast) 🎙️ Bannon's War Room - 2026-10-05 “Americans are increasingly blaming Donald Trump for the high cost of living and poor economic performance.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-05 “Latino voters are increasingly disapproving of Trump and the Republicans due to economic concerns and immigration policies.” 🧶 people online
- 2026-10-05 “President Donald Trump’s campaign account and the National Republican Senatorial Committee claimed that Roy Cooper was in New York City at a climate conference when Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina two years ago.” 🔎 PolitiFact
- 2026-10-05 “The national debt increased significantly during Donald Trump's presidency.”
🎙️ The Kyle Kulinski Show - 2026-10-03 “The economy hasn't improved since the past administration.” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-10-03 “The president is responsible for rising costs of goods and services due to starting an unprovoked war.” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-10-03 “A war in Iran has raised the cost of living for people who were already struggling financially.” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-09-17 “President Donald Trump’s tariffs cost each Michigan household $5,619.” 🔎 PolitiFact
- 2026-08-15 “Voters believe Trump's first term economy was good and they want it back” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-08-15 “Voters feel Trump did not deliver on promises like deportations or no war” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-08-15 “Voters think tariffs are not working for them” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
- 2026-07-25 “Trump did not keep his promise to lower prices” 🗳️ voters in The Focus Group
M184 · first seen 2026-10-05 · last 2026-10-27 · what this is · how the index works