What Tuesday’s Democratic sweep says about voters’ attitudes on Trump’s economy : NPR

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

For more on Trump’s message on the economy, we’re joined by Republican strategist Brendan Buck. He is a partner at the consultancy firm Seven Letter. Prior to that, he served as press secretary to House Speaker John Boehner and later advised House Speaker Paul Ryan. And we’ll note that he’s currently working on a coalition that’s trying to get the Affordable Care Act tax credits expanded. Hello and welcome to the program.

BRENDAN BUCK: Hi, Leila.

FADEL: So I want to start with what we just heard. This week, some voters are sending the message that President Trump is not keeping his promises on affordability.

BUCK: It’s hard to argue otherwise. As the pollster just said, yes, the economy is still number one. I think what’s interesting about all of this is that Donald Trump has had bad numbers for quite a while, and we just haven’t had an event that has really forced anyone to deal with it. And I think that’s what happened here. In some ways, our politics is really complicated. In some ways they are quite simple. Our voters tend to swing.

When they have an incumbent president who they believe is not doing his job, they send them a message in the election. I think that’s what happened on Tuesday. And it’s absolutely a wake-up call, it should be, for Republicans and certainly for the president, who seems to want to distance himself from it. But it clearly depends, I think, on Donald Trump. And his numbers are reflected in what happened this week.

FADEL: Let me ask you about that because we heard the president there say it was a messaging problem. So is this a messaging problem? Or is it about what is done or what is not done?

BUCK: Well, I think it could be both. I mean, ironically, he’s starting to sound a little bit like Joe Biden, which is don’t believe your own finances. Believe me when I tell you that everything is fine. And it’s a really hard sell. And he is not the first president to attempt to do so. But if you don’t actually lower people’s prices, or at least keep them low, it will eventually catch up with you. You can only tell people something so long before their own reality challenges it.

There are now potential ways to address this issue in a substantial way. And we just had a Supreme Court hearing this week. Maybe this can be a way out. If the tariffs he put in place are rolled back, maybe he can turn away from them and do something to lower prices in a tangible way, because I think ultimately what the economy does is going to be much more important than what he says about it.

FADEL: Let me ask you though – you know, the administration has told us that, you know, it’s overkill, that these things are being taken – too much is being taken away from Tuesday’s vote. Do you agree with this?

BUCK: Well, I would say there’s still a long time before the election, but I think there are some very clear warning signs. And look, you have to care about your politics a little more than I think the administration and Republicans in general have done. Look, if you have an election in Virginia and you just fired a bunch of federal officials, this is going to happen. And if you cancel a major tunnel project in New Jersey and you have an election there, that’s going to happen. If you’ve made gains with Hispanic voters, but then you run an administration that brings people together in communities and terrorizes communities, that’s going to happen. And so far, they’ve acted quite cavalierly with some of their policies and their political impact. So I’m hoping that this might be kind of a reset where they think a little more strategically about what they’re doing in a substantive way.

FADEL: So if you were advising, what would you say we do right now, given what happened Tuesday?

BUCK: Well, it’s certainly right to focus on the economy rhetorically, but I think we also need to focus on it substantively. I mean, you mentioned that I was working on these ACA tax credits. I mean, it’s a huge problem. Next year, health care premiums are either going to go up a little or they’re going to go up a lot. And that’s a decision Congress will have to face. I think it’s a tangible thing they can do. Again, tariffs are something very concrete that they can do.

But part of it is just about getting out of the bubble. I mean, too often, Republicans only worry about whether their conservative base is comfortable with what they’re doing. And I think what we discovered on Tuesday is that there’s a whole world outside of your conservative base. And if you don’t focus on these essential issues, they will punish you. So it really requires thinking about these kinds of middle-class, lower-middle-class, independent voters who, even as polarized as we are, determine most of the outcomes.

FADEL: So are you saying they should sit down with Democrats and think about health care and open up the government?

BUCK: Well, that would be a good start, that’s for sure. I mean, shutting down the government doesn’t serve anyone’s interests at this point. I don’t think it works for Democrats. I don’t think it works for Republicans. And that really has the effect of making everyone angry at Washington. And when you’re the party in power, it doesn’t do you any good to have everyone just disgusted with what’s going on. It is you who will be punished. And this is not a new dynamic. The ruling party almost always experiences bad first midterm elections.

The Republicans are therefore working against History. They’re now working against the economy, which – the Democrats have kind of taken that problem off their hands. So they have a lot of work to do. And I hope, you know, as a Republican, we can understand that and focus a little bit more on the things that people care about.

FADEL: That’s Republican strategist Brendan Buck. Thank you very much for your time and ideas.

BUCK: Of course. THANKS.

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