According to a Bloomberg report, Donald Trump's chances of being re-elected are continuing to collapse despite the fact that some polls still show voters believe he would be better at handling the U.S. economy than Joe Biden -- and that has GOP consultants frantic.
According to one longtime GOP analyst whose career dates back to the Ronald Reagan administration, he's not optimistic about the president's chances in November.
Bloomberg reports, "Donald Trump can see one bright spot amid a sea of public opinion polls predicting he’ll lose to Joe Biden -- a majority of voters in the states he needs to win trust him to manage the economy. But Republican strategists say they doubt Trump’s promise that the economy will quickly recover and that he can rebuild it to its former strength will win over voters more concerned for the first time with a public health crisis and while the economy is still hobbled by high unemployment and slow growth."
With the economy still reeling and possibly heading for a deeper collapse as the coronavirus pandemic flares up again causing states to not only halt re-opening businesses but also order the shuttering of ones that had opened, some Republicans say the president won't be able to resurrect his booming economy talking points.
“In January, Trump was taunting people, saying that you may not like me but you have no choice,” former Ronald Reagan aide Ed Rogers claimed. “By any measure, that said, this president has a lot of red lights flashing on the dashboard and is losing altitude and it’s not good. I’m a good Republican but I’m not optimistic. There’s no reason to be.”
According to financial and employment analysts, the president may not be seeing any good news soon -- or in time before the election.
“There’s going to be a lot of spinning of the numbers, but I think the overarching picture is going to be one of an economy that’s still struggling to regain its footing,” admitted Julia Coronado of MacroPolicy Perspectives.
According to Stan Shipley, an economist at Evercore ISI, "He’ll have to run on employment. And the problem with running on employment is, the unemployment rate is still going to be relatively high. It will still be in double digits until the end of this year. So it’s going to be tricky how he runs on it.”
Amy Koch, a Republican strategist in Minnesota, said she is not optimistic.
“It is the main thing that people vote on, so it can work in his favor in a good way and also if we see the fallout in the next few months, that’s going to be a problem. He knows that and that’s why you see him talking up the economy,” she explained.
