| | | | A radical proposal to get Donald Trump reelected in 2020 |  | | The news on Friday confirmed -- beyond a shadow of a doubt -- this fact: The US economy is booming.
The economy added 263,000 jobs in the month of April, and the unemployment rate is now just 3.6% -- the lowest it's been since 1969! On top of the better-than-expected GDP news last month, it's now quite clear that President Donald Trump is overseeing an economy going gangbusters.
And yet, for all of the successes of the economy -- and the fact that a majority of Americans (56%) give him credit for his handling of the nation's finances -- Trump's job approval ratings remain mired in the low 40s, a dangerous place to be for a sitting president ramping up a reelection bid.
Which brings me to a radical idea I have been kicking around for a while now: Trump's best chance at winning would be to cease issuing statements -- or tweets -- about anything other than the economy. And to cut ALL statements and tweets down to, roughly, one a day.
No Mueller report. No name-calling of potential Democratic candidates. No nothing -- other than tweeting or speaking about the current state of the economy. And doing that once a day.
Yes, such a strategy might prompt accusations that Trump is hiding from the media. Or that he is walking away from things such as building the border wall that his base quite clearly values.
But such an extreme approach to his public pronouncements would also give Trump the best chance top bridge the current chasm between people who think he is doing a good job on the economy (a majority of the public) and people who approve of the job he is doing overall (43% in the latest CNN-SSRS poll).
That gap seems, quite clearly, the result of the fact that people simply do not like Trump and his overall approach -- bragging, bullying etc. -- to the job. What better way to make people focus on the part of the Trump presidency they do like (the economy) than by downplaying the part they don't like (Trump personally)?
To be clear: This will NEVER happen. Trump is not capable of the sort of discipline it would require. And, even if he were, other issues would likely crop up that, as president, he and his advisers would feel compelled to address.
But, I propose it to make this point: Trump's biggest hurdle to a second term is his personality and behavior in office.
The Point: A less divisive -- and less abnormal -- Republican president, with this same economic record through two-plus years of his term, would be sitting pretty for reelection. Trump, because he is Trump, isn't.
-- Chris
And now, the week in 33 headlines:
Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: | | "Very, very briefly it was discussed, essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion."
-- White House press secretary Sarah Sanders describing the discussion of the Mueller report on the hour-long call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin today. | | | Can you keep up with every Democrat running for president?
Try your knowledge with this quiz: Is this Democrat running for president? | | | Vampire Weekend's LONG-awaited new album -- "Father of the Bride" -- is out!!!! | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | | Over the next week: Iowa's drawing a crowd, Trump rallies the MAGA gang in Florida and college commencement address season begins.
Friday, May 3 - Elizabeth Warren: Begins a two-day swing through Iowa with stops in Ames, Iowa Falls, Osage and Mason City
- Marianne Williamson: Kicks off a weekend in Iowa, including tonight's Clinton County Democrat Hall of Fame dinner
- Andrew Yang: Holds a Seattle rally
Saturday, May 4 - Amy Klobuchar: Holds a meet and greet in Iowa City
- Kirsten Gillibrand: Participates in the first installment of the Harris County Democratic Party's presidential speaker series in Houston
- Beto O'Rourke: Delivers the commencement address at Dallas' Paul Quinn College
- Bernie Sanders: Begins a two-day swing through Iowa with a rally at Iowa State University
Sunday, May 5 - Kamala Harris: Delivers the keynote speech for the 64th annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner of the Detroit Branch NAACP
- Andrew Yang: Holds a rally in Minneapolis
Monday, May 6 - Pete Buttigieg: Begins a two-day stop in South Carolina, expected to include a roundtable discussion at South Carolina State University
Tuesday, May 7 Wednesday, May 8 - Donald Trump: Will hold a MAGA rally in Panama City Beach, Florida
- Beto O'Rourke: Holds a house party in Charles City, Iowa
- Amy Klobuchar: Participates in a Fox News town hall from Milwaukee
Thursday, May 9 - Andrew Yang: Holds a meet and greet and town hall at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire
Friday, May 10 - Cory Booker: Delivers the commencement speech at South Carolina State University
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