Trump is Putting the American Dream Out of Reach

July 4, 2025

MEMORANDUM
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: DNC War Room
DATE: July 4th, 2025
RE: Trump is Putting the American Dream Out of Reach 

Donald Trump promised Americans that he would usher in a “golden age” and put “America first.” But in the 165 days since he took office, Donald Trump has worked day (and night) to kill the American dream for working families across the country while enriching himself, his family, and his billionaire friends. 

Now, Trump’s Billionaire Bill, the administration’s signature legislation, will actively funnel money from the poorest Americans into the pockets of the richest while decimating the very programs working families, children, and seniors rely on. 

America should be the land of opportunity but under Donald Trump, the American dream is dying. Prices are rising. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their jobs. Small businesses are suffering. The safety net was just gutted with historic cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. The American dream of owning a home is leaping further and further out of reach for millions of hardworking families. It has become drastically harder for Americans to just survive and get by — let alone get ahead.

Let’s be clear: The Trump administration has taken aim at the very things that make America the greatest country in the world. Americans are overwhelmingly rejecting his agenda, rife with buyers’ remorse. Democrats are standing with the American people, organizing everywhere, and fighting back — in Congress, in the courts, and on the ground in states across the country. 

On July 4th, Trump has eviscerated the American Dream:

  1. Shredding the American Safety Net
  2. Rising Prices
  3. Job Losses and Shuttering Small Businesses
  4. Homeownership Out of Reach
  5. Slashing Educational Opportunities

Shredding the American Safety Net 

  • Trump and the GOP are ripping away health care from 17 million Americans through over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act — including the largest cut to Medicaid in American history 
  • Trump and the GOP are putting over 300 rural hospitals at risk of shutting down, ripping away critical, lifesaving care from hundreds of rural communities across the country  
  • Trump and the GOP are forcing at least 1 in 4 nursing homes to close their doors 
  • Trump and the GOP are forcing roughly 5 million Americans to go hungry — about 1 in 8 SNAP participants — with the largest cuts to food assistance in history. 
  • Over 1 million children will see their food assistance threatened by Trump and the GOP’s cuts. 

Rising Prices

🚗 Trump’s failing economic agenda is already driving car prices up by almost $2,000 per vehicle.

🔌 Nearly 60 utility providers are trying to raise electric bills by $38.3 billion and gas bills by $3.5 billion — forcing tens of millions of Americans to shoulder higher costs. 

🩺 Health insurance providers are raising premiums in response to Trump’s chaotic economic agenda. 

💊 Prescription drug prices are expected to rise under Trump’s disastrous economic agenda. 

🧺 Washing machines, fridges, ovens, and other household goods are expected to get more expensive because of Trump. 

🧸 Toy prices are skyrocketing at the fastest pace on record, while games and playground equipment jumped 2.2% just between April and May.

💍 Some consumers have been forced to pay as much as 10-15% in surcharges for their wedding dress.

Job Losses and Shuttering Small Businesses 

  • Trump eliminated the Community Development Financial Institution programs that provide private capital for small businesses, especially rural ones. 
  • Trump has slashed the Small Business Administration, making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to access critical capital and for Americans to start their own small businesses. 

Homeownership Out of Reach

  • Trump froze $1.4 billion in funding to renovate and preserve affordable housing — risking kicking millions of Americans out of their homes across the country. 
  • Trump ended the Emergency Housing Vouchers Initiative, pushing 60,000 people into homelessness. 
  • Trump’s 2026 budget proposes eliminating $1.3 billion in HOME investment partnership programs that help state and local governments build housing. 
  • Trump proposed slashing nearly $27 billion from rental assistance — an unprecedented 44% cut —  leaving over 10 million Americans at risk for homelessness. 
  • Trump is adding bureaucratic red tape and barriers to rental assistance that are proven to be ineffective while cutting millions off from assistance. 

Slashing Educational Opportunities 

  • Trump withheld $7 billion from K-12 schools — depriving schools of after-school, English learning, teacher training, and other critical programs. 
  • Trump slashed Head Start funding and shut down regional offices, undermining early childhood education for millions of low-income children. 
  • Trump proposed $1.6 billion in cuts to programs supporting low-income students and preparing them for college — programs which had a successful track record of raising GPAs, graduation rates, and college enrollment. 
  • Trump proposed eliminating nearly $1 billion in financial aid for students with “exceptional financial need.” 
  • Trump and the GOP’s billionaire-first budget will slash Pell Grants, forcing low-income students to shoulder more of their educational costs and drown in loans. 
  • Trump’s proposed slashing the maximum Pell Grant by $1,600 while college continues to get more expensive. 
  • Trump proposed eliminating the only child care program that exists exclusively to help low-income parents attend school. 
  • Trump and the GOP’s budget will kick 8 million federal loan holders off their SAVE plans. 
  • Trump and the GOP’s budget includes a lifetime cap on graduate student loans for law school and medical school, putting these degrees out of reach for students who cannot afford to pay out of pocket.