As the GOP shows signs of turning on President Trump, Democrats need to take advantage of the moment, opined New York Times columnist Josh Barro Thursday morning.
“The president’s economically destructive and unpopular policies could not be easier for Democrats to message against, and yet some of them can’t figure out how.”
As the country recovers from Trump’s self-proclaimed “liberation day,” the author of the “Very Serious” newsletter wants Democrats to understand, “They can now be the party that wants to make Americans rich and free.”
According to new polling, releasing any new tariffs is not something Democratic voters want. “In a late March YouGov poll for CBS News, 88 percent of Democratic respondents said they oppose new tariffs on imported goods. That poll was taken before President Trump announced huge new tariffs on April 2.” The announcement caused stocks to tumble severely in the following days.
Barro believes this is something to campaign on, “They should seize that opportunity, instead of offering their own version of an anti-commerce, anti-prosperity, pro-tariff agenda."
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There was harsh criticism given on the mixed tariff messaging from Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Congressperson Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). “Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, accepted Mr. Trump’s premise, reposting his message and adding, ‘and the rich get richer’ — on a day when the Dow Jones industrial average fell over 2,000 points.”
Murphy published a video falsely claiming, “tariffs are ‘not economic policy’ and ‘not trade policy’ but instead ‘ political weapon designed to collapse our democracy.’”
Meanwhile, House members took a stance saying, “Mr. Trump is doing tariffs wrong, but that tariffs done right would be good for the economy.”
Barro believes this mixed messaging is not a good look for Democrats, and instead offered them a playbook: “The only sensible strategy for retaining Democratic voters while also winning over the swing voters who thought Mr. Trump was going to bring them a better economy is to stand firmly against Mr. Trump on tariffs.”
One other thing Democrats could be focusing on right now, “repeal the emergency tariff powers Mr. Trump is abusing — to be clear, for any president, Republican or Democrat — so other countries will find our commitments in trade agreements to be credible again.”
Barro is explicitly clear, “Democrats have an enormous opportunity, and they would be crazy not to seize it.”