GOP terrified Trump created a time bomb set to detonate just before the midterms: report
Republicans in vulnerable congressional districts are increasingly worried President Donald Trump has set a trap for his own party that is set to blow up in all their faces just before the midterms, Politico reported on Monday.
Specifically, after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's power to unilaterally issue tariffs under emergency powers law, Trump has scrambled to re-implement and double down on his import taxes — and Democrats have already moved for a devastating offensive with voters over the issue.
"Trump has only doubled down on his tariff plans in the wake of the court decision, saying Friday that he would use Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a 15 percent global tariff," said the report. "But that would expire after 150 days unless Congress extends it — a vote that could squeeze vulnerable members just months before the November midterm. Vulnerable Republicans and GOP strategists who quietly cheered the Friday court decision are worried that they’re heading into a heated, economy-focused election on their back foot."
All of this comes at a time when Democrats are strategizing a huge messaging war over the president's handling of the economy.
"Democratic operatives point to a series of off-cycle victories late last year in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere, where candidates made cost-of-living central to their pitch," said the report. "And a torrent of polling suggests Trump’s tariffs are unpopular with the electorate. In a November POLITICO Poll, a 45 percent plurality of Americans said higher tariffs are damaging the U.S. economy — in both the short and long term."
At the same time, Democratic officeholders, like Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), have begun demanding Congress authorize a "refund" of Trump's tariffs in the form of checks to American households — something that puts Republicans in a further bind.
“When someone takes money that wasn’t authorized and does it in a way that harms you, they’ve stolen from you, and that is what the Trump administration has done for the last year,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) told Politico.