So far, Trump is doing what he needs to do to get reelected.
The Trump economy is benefitting “Trump country” the most, according to a study the Brookings Institution prepared for Bloomberg News:
Jobs are growing at a faster rate in Trump country than they are in the Democratic-leaning urban and coastal areas….
During the first 21 months of Donald Trump’s presidency, the 2,622 mostly rural and exurban counties he won in the 2016 election added jobs at twice the pace they did during the previous two years under the Obama administration….
The uptick in Trump country is crucial to the president’s re-election chances in 2020.
Score one for Trump.
The latest Gallup weekly tracking poll shows Trump enjoying a 91-percent approval rating among Republicans, while his overall support jumped seven percentage points. This bump followed the release of the Mueller report and more news about the expanding economy.
Another poll by WPA Intelligence shows that the president holds a critical advantage over Democrats in important states he needs to win reelection. His approval rating in Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Texas was 50 percent or higher, while in Wisconsin his support is 49 percent and in Michigan, 45 percent. Across those six states the poll confirmed Gallup’s results with a 91-percent approval rating among Republicans, 82-percent approval among conservatives, and a very respectable 46-percent approval rating among independents.
Score two for Trump.
A Brookings/Bloomberg poll looked at different sectors of the economy and learned that those industries hardest hit during the Obama years — mining, oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, and trucking — have bounced back strongly under Trump. The mining and oil and gas industry lost 247,000 jobs during Obama’s final years, but has added back 108,000 jobs during Trump’s first two years. Manufacturing suffered a slump during Obama’s final two years, adding only 63,000 jobs. Under Trump, 454,000 jobs have been added.
The trucking industry was also hard hit under Obama, with just 9,000 jobs being added during his final two years in the White House. Since January 2017, the Brookings/Bloomberg study showed that more than 60,000 new jobs have been added during Trump’s first two years.
Score three for Trump.
According to Rasmussen Reports, not only are the American people tired of the Mueller report, they don’t think the Democrats have any chance of impeaching the president or, for that matter, Attorney General William Barr or Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. According to Rasmussen, 71 percent of likely U.S. voters think the House is unlikely to impeach any of them, while just 22 percent consider impeachment as likely.
Score four for Trump.
Trump’s “four corners offense” — a basketball strategy for stalling a game to keep the opposing team from scoring — is working, to the chagrin of Richard Cherwitz. Writing in The Hill, Cherwitz complains that Trump’s strategy of not allowing former White House counsel Don McGahn and others to comply with subpoenas issued by various House committees chaired by rabid anti-Trump Democrats is working. He says it’s “a deliberate and calculated attempt to play a four corners offense.” If those committees press the matter, the issues will likely wind up in court, with decisions probably being delayed until after November 2020’s presidential election. It’s a strategy, wrote Cherwitz, of “running out the clock.”
Second, wrote Cherwitz, Trump controls the narrative through his “relentless Twitter posts.” In addition, Trump is enjoying support from both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as they both consider the Mueller case “closed.”
Score five for Trump.
Cherwitz admitted as much: “This [strategy] poses an enormous challenge for Democrats who need to devise an effective rhetorical strategy to counter the president. Thus far, there doesn’t seem to be one.”
The Democrats continue to flail about, trying to find a strategy with some traction. Instead they propose half-crazy schemes such as the Green New Deal designed to push the country off a financial cliff, gun registration and licensing schemes that enrage the estimated 55 million gun owners who cherish their Second Amendment rights, open borders and, last but not least, Joe Biden as their leading candidate to face Trump next year.
Score: Trump 5, Democrats 0.
Photo: AP Images
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
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