President Donald Trump has people close to him fretting that he is "not where they would like to be" ahead of the midterms, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Haberman joined CNN's Anderson Cooper on "AC360" on Monday, where they discussed a recent attack lobbed by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) against Trump over his constant travels with aide Natalie Harp and how that message could play in the midterms. During the interview, Haberman let slip a stunning piece of information about how the Trump White House is thinking about the midterms.
"Every adviser who Jonathan and I speak to would like him to be talking differently about the economy than he is, and they would likethe Iran war to be over, andneither of those things arehappening," Haberman said. "So, we will see wherethings are in a few weeks. Butright now, this is not where they would like to be."
Trump advisers like Kevin Hassett have repeatedly claimed that Trump's economy is doing well despite data released by the administration that suggests otherwise. For instance, the latest job numbers show the economy lost 23,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate declined, which some analysts took as a sign that some people have left the labor force entirely.
Polling also shows that about three-quarters of Americans are unhappy with Trump's economy.