Dems ‘gleeful’ as Trump abandons GOP to angry voters

The New York Times reports while President Donald Trump focuses unblinkingly on international affairs his Republican Party here at home are catching the worst of voter resentment.“… We have wages climbing faster than inflation,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) complained to the Times. “That should be in every speech. We have 4.3 percent G.D.P. growth. That should be in every speech. That’s a great number.”But instead the Times reports Trump’s attention and nearly all of his public message has been trained on international affairs and divisive moves at home.“He has initiated military action in Venezuela, pushed aggressively to acquire Greenland, warned Iran against killing protesters, threatened retaliatory tariffs that could drive up prices in the United States and relentlessly bemoaned the fact that he was not awarded a Nobel Peace Prize,” said Capitol Hill Carl Hulse. “At the same time, he is leading an increasingly aggressive immigration crackdown that has in recent weeks led to the shooting of a 37-year-old woman by an ICE agent and the arrest of a preschooler in Minnesota.”This leaves voters feeling his attention is misplaced, presenting “a grim dynamic for Republicans in Congress who must face re-election in November,” said the Times. Such is the indication of numerous polls, including a January New York Times/Siena poll finding a huge majority of Americans believing Trump’s priorities are skewed as the U.S. economy pummels their bank accounts.“The president will not be on the ballot this fall, but Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate who will be have a steep challenge: The survey gave Democrats a five-percentage-point edge over Republicans when it came to congressional candidates,” the Times reports.This, of course, could impact how flagrantly Trump wields his power for the remainder of his term if an incoming Democratic House, Senate or both decides to reclaim the Constitutional congressional power Republicans surrendered while they had the majority.Republicans anxiety about the coming election appears to at least be resonating with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who “made a point” of telling news media that Trump would “soon begin making more trips around the United States to sell his domestic achievements.”Republicans, meanwhile, hope to reap the political benefit of GOP tax payouts orchestrated to endear the public months ahead of the midterms.“When people file their taxes, obviously they are going to see a large tax cut and that’s going to have a very positive impact on their situation and their outlook,” said Representative Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).But voters are already mindful of exploding healthcare costs resulting from Republicans letting expire Obama and Biden-era healthcare subsidies. And the nagging budget concerns and mounting U.S. inflation will be sure to thrash home budgets months after the Republicans’ deliberate tax sop is spent, which could impact even the cultlike adoration of his own low-wage voters.The Times poll found that Americans did not support the tax cuts, which disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans, and 18 percent of Republicans polled had not even heard about them.“Democrats appear gleeful at the prospect of capitalizing on the disaffection with Mr. Trump and making the case that Republicans in Congress have put their loyalty to him above their concern for voters,” reports the Times.“This week, the Republican focus has been on Greenland, Jack Smith and Bill and Hillary Clinton,” said Rep Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). “That’s their focus this week, not driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans.”Read the Times report at this link.

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