Donald Trump And The Republican Party Are In ‘Serious Trouble,’ Analyst Says
In an appearance on Saturday’s edition of MSNBC’s Weekends, Democratic strategist and political analyst Ed Kilgore suggested that Donald Trump and the Republican Party are in “serious trouble” ahead of the November election.
As reported by Raw Story, Kilgore compared Trump to former President Herbert Hoover, who guided the United States amid the onset of the Great Depression but ultimately lost reelection. According to Kilgore, Trump may end up meeting the same fate as Hoover due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Kilgore notes the American public does not blame the president for the pandemic.
“But right now he’s in some serious trouble and so is his party, which is in danger of losing control of the Senate along with the White House,” Kilgore said.
Nevertheless, Kilgore suggested that such losses would not lead to a “30-year drought” for Republicans.
“The American people are a bit more polarized between parties right now, so party allegiance is more stable than it was then, and on top of that, you know, there’s certain built-in strengths Republicans have in the Senate and the Electoral College which make it possible for them to be more powerful than their popular support.”
Kilgore noted that Trump’s approval rating has been lower than the approval score of other reelected candidates. Conversely, the president’s approval for handling the economy has been higher than average. Although this rating remains high, Kilgore says he finds it “hard to imagine” that it will remain healthy with the rising unemployment numbers fueled by the economic shutdown and no end in sight for COVID-19.
With unemployment skyrocketing, Trump's approval rating specific to his handling of the economy is now underwater for the first time in @NavigatorSurvey. pic.twitter.com/HGsRd1juoA
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) May 8, 2020
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, fundraising reports reveal that Senate Democratic challengers have significantly eclipsed funding raised by their Republican opponents in the first three months of 2020. According to the publication, this “enthusiasm gap” doesn’t bode well for the party in November and is sparking fears among the GOP that the Senate will fall from their control.
“The Senate is absolutely at risk of going Democratic,” said Josh Holmes, a top GOP strategist and Mitch McConnell‘s confidant.
In particular, Holmes pointed to the Democrats’ edge in digital fundraising, which has reportedly driven the enthusiasm gap via small donors.
As for Trump, there are factors outside of the economy and reelection campaign that could harm his chances in November. As The Inquisitr previously reported, a study from the journal Administrative Theory & Praxis claimed that mass deaths of older adults driven by the pandemic could cut into his base and decrease his chances of winning reelection.
