'Never let up pressure': Columnist pushes Dems to seize on GOP's 'important weakness'

Republican lawmakers are hinting at an "important weakness" of which Democrats can take advantage, a columnist argued Saturday.

Political columnist Paul Waldman, who has previously commented on the antics of Marjorie Taylor Greene, weighed in over the weekend on Trump's false bravado. Specifically, Waldman makes the argument that Republicans are overstating Trump's electoral victory to hide the truth: Trump is still a deeply unpopular politician.

"Republicans are more desperate than ever to convince the public that Trump is hugely popular — and that opposing him and his policies will be politically disastrous for Democrats," according to Waldman. "Nothing could be further from the truth. Trump was a historically unpopular president the first time around, and so far it looks as though he’ll face the same widespread public opposition in his second term."

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He adds, "Republicans’ reminders of Trump’s victory obscures an important weakness and Democrats should be paying close attention."

The columnist goes on to argue that, "On the verge of his second term, even after his first popular vote victory in three tries, Trump’s approval is weak."

"A new Marist/NPR poll puts it at just 44%; 49% say they disapprove of him. The Economist/YouGov poll gives him a similar 45/51 split, while a USA Today/Suffolk University survey has his favorability/unfavorability at 47% each," he added. "The reasons Trump remains unpopular are, at this point in his career, both obvious to anyone and unlikely to change. No wonder then, that Republicans are so eager to inflate the size of Trump’s victory: it’s their best hope that Democrats will be scared away from being too full-throated in their opposition to Trump’s nominees and policy agenda."

In his conclusion, Waldman notes that "not all voters are that attentive, so they need the opposition party to tell them everything the president is screwing up and why his administration is dragging the country to disaster."

"On this score, Trump and his administration will offer no shortage of material. When Trump takes the oath of office, Democrats need to treat him as a weak and reviled executive," he added. "And from then on, they should never let up the pressure."

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