Bulwark Takes

Energy Costs Are Way Up. Will It Hurt Trump?

Aug 20, 2025
Jonathan Cohn, author of The Breakdown newsletter, joins Tim Miller to discuss the surging electricity costs impacting both everyday Americans and Donald Trump's political landscape. They delve into the reasons behind rising bills, such as the discontinuation of clean energy tax credits and the burgeoning demand from AI data centers. Cohn highlights the potential of solar solutions in mitigating costs while critiquing policy decisions that exacerbate the energy crisis, all reflecting on how these issues resonate with voter sentiments ahead of upcoming elections.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Data Centers And An Aging Grid

  • Electricity bills are rising due to surging demand from data centers and an aging grid with deferred maintenance.
  • Those two factors are driving current price increases and are passed through to consumers.
INSIGHT

Subsidy Rollbacks Raise Future Prices

  • Repealing clean-energy incentives removes promised capacity that would have helped lower future electricity prices.
  • Losing those Inflation Reduction Act credits makes price increases likelier as demand grows.
ADVICE

Use Rooftop Solar To Hedge Bills

  • Consider rooftop solar to reduce household exposure to rising utility bills as Jonathan Cohn and Tim Miller discuss personal solar adoption.
  • Solar cuts your grid reliance and can shelter you from some tariff-driven cost increases.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app