Trump tried to turn attention back to the economy in Iowa. Did it work? : NPR

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to focus a little more on this story with Alex Conant. He is a Republican strategist and partner at the communications firm Firehouse Strategies. Hello, Alex.

ALEX CONANT: Hello.

MARTIN: So this economic speech is quite similar to previous versions given by President Trump. Danielle told us the president didn’t seem to stray as far off topic as he often does. How do you think he did?

CONANT: I ​​mean, I – look, you can just say the White House and this president are so frustrated because they’re looking at the economic data. They see very strong job growth. They see unemployment continuing. They see inflation well below its peaks. And then they look at things like consumer confidence and polling numbers, and there’s a disconnect. The public doesn’t feel like the economy is doing as well and so they need to get out there and sell it. And that’s clearly what the president was trying to do yesterday with more focus and, I think, discipline than he’s done in the past. He gave a speech very much on script, at least by his standards, because you could tell they really want to make the case to the American people that the economy is better than they think.

MARTIN: Okay. So the president has made speeches and comments about affordability before, but on the one hand, he’s sort of dismissing that as a problem. He claims to have solved it as a problem. In some cases, the data contradicts what he says, and anyway, as Danielle told us, that’s not necessarily how people experience it. I mean, how effective is a stump speech, delivered over and over again, in changing voters’ minds about how they feel about their own situation?

CONANT: Well, I think there are two things going on. The first is that political consultants and communications experts like me understand that public opinion lags behind economic data. So the economy can improve, but it takes a while for the public to see it, to feel it, – frankly, to trust that their lives are improving. They still remember when prices for groceries and other items were much cheaper a year or two ago, and they still worry about their jobs. They don’t see – they don’t feel that there are many job opportunities. That said, the White House must continue to make its case. They cannot abandon the economic question. Trump won because he promised to control prices and help the economy. They – the voters trusted him more than Biden or Harris on the economy. That’s why he won. If he loses this victory, Republicans will be completely toast in the midterms and beyond.

MARTIN: I want to ask you about the fact that the president barely mentioned Minnesota in yesterday’s speech. Now, we’ve heard from Republicans who – look, if they’re not overtly critical, they’re at least expressing reservations about the administration’s tactics in Minnesota, you know, and elsewhere. Yesterday, we discussed this program with a Republican state representative, Nolan West of Minnesota. I’m just going to play you a short excerpt of what he said.

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NOLAN WEST: It was absolutely horrible to see. I’m glad that it seems like a turning point has been reached with the conversations between Governor Walz and President Trump, and the arrival of Tom Homan as someone who doesn’t have a lot of statements that he refuses to retract. So I’m optimistic that we’re now moving in the right direction, but the response has been terrible.

MARTIN: He was talking specifically about the murder of Alex Pretti, and also the kind of destruction of his reputation in the comments. We all know what some people have said…

CONANT: Yeah.

MARTIN: …Administration officials. Do you have the impression that the president is listening to Republican voices in this way?

CONANT: Yes. I happen to be from Minneapolis, so, you know, seeing these photos – it’s heartbreaking, but you don’t have to be from Minnesota to be disturbed by what you see. And I think you see a lot of Republicans quietly and publicly saying in the White House that these optics are terrible. We talked earlier about how the economy is Trump’s winning issue. Immigration is his other winning issue. And he risks losing both because people don’t like the direction of the economy, but they also don’t like the direction of his immigration policy. So I think you’re seeing a subtle shift in policy, and certainly a shift in tone, in the 48 hours since the shooting, in response to public opinion. And I don’t think you’ll see the president halt his immigration actions, but I think we’ll see a different tone going forward. And I hope it will be more – I hope it will be better for public safety, but also better for his public opinion numbers.

MARTIN: Okay. So Trump sent his border czar, Tom Homan, to take charge of day-to-day operations in Minnesota. But he then downplayed it, telling Fox News it was just a small change, and brushed off the attack on the Minnesota congresswoman. And I just wonder, deep down – you know, we – she was attacked by a person, and we know that these things are often very serious. He himself has been attacked at public events. And I just wonder how people see that. Do they really see a change in tone?

CONANT: Well, we’ll find out. I mean, that’s a great question. Donald Trump is not one to back down, but I think his superpower in his political career has been his ability to set the agenda. And he’s lost the ability to set the agenda over the last couple of weeks because events on the ground have really, you know, taken precedence. You know, he wants to talk about a healthy economy, he wants to talk about foreign policy success. But instead he just talks about Minnesota. Watching this interview on Fox yesterday, it’s so clear that this is not what he wants to talk about.

MARTIN: This is Alex Conant. He’s a Republican strategist at Firehouse Strategies. Alex, thank you very much.

CONANT: Thank you.

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