President Donald Trump’s insistence that America is enjoying the “greatest economy ever in history” may end up backfiring on Republicans later this year, warned one GOP consultant on Sunday, as most Americans remain unhappy with the direction of the economy, with an overwhelming majority still living paycheck to paycheck.
“I'm popular and I've done well,” Trump told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow last week, speaking on the performance of the economy. “I mean, I think we have the greatest economy actually ever in history.”
While several stock market indexes have shown positive growth in recent weeks, for millions of Americans, such growth is “feckless.” Around 40% of Americans don’t have a 401(k) to reap the benefits of a well-performing stock market, and more than half of Americans are unable to afford a single $500 emergency expense.
And yet, Trump has struggled to heed the warnings of some of those around him to acknowledge Americans’ economic hurdles, something that Whit Ayres, a GOP consultant with more than 40 years of experience, warned could end up backfiring in the upcoming midterms spectacularly.
“House Republicans are entering a really dangerous phase,” Ayres said, speaking with The Washington Post in its report Sunday. “They have to defy history. They need everything, they need a president who has the loudest megaphone in the country’s history.”
Instead of acknowledging the financial struggles millions of Americans continue to endure, Trump has declared the affordability crisis to be a “hoax” manufactured by Democrats. It’s this rhetoric, Ayres argued, that stood in stark contrast to past presidents that had successfully navigated moments of economic hardship.
“Presidents who’ve done a good job capturing the sentiments of the American people are those who articulate a message that is consistent with what most people feel,” Ayres said. “Bill Clinton was probably the best of anyone at that, but it’s very difficult to persuade Americans to believe something they’re not feeling in their daily lives.”