You may have noticed that President Donald Trump has been more frantic and unhinged than usual over the past several days, and former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele says there’s a very simple explanation for Trump’s behavior: He’s scared.
During an appearance on “Morning Joe” Monday, Steele noted that Trump is rushing to get the states off lockdown because he can sense the economy has tanked and will probably not recover before the election. That, Steele said, matters more to voters than Trump’s removal of the State Department inspector general:
“I think that voters are processing what’s happening to their pocketbooks, businesses and families, relative to a scandal that may or may not be a scandal — we don’t know what we don’t know. It’s still a little murky. The [inspector general] stuff, that’s not their pay grade, they trust the president to do that. That’s an executive branch decision. If he doesn’t think the guy is doing a good job, that’s fine.”
When host Joe Scarborough remarked that the inspector general firing might cost Republicans their Senate majority come November, Steele again remarked that it’s the economy most voters are looking at as they decide how they’ll vote in a few months:
“In any other environment, that may get the kind of attention and focus that it would deserve, and then push and move voters to look at corruption and other issues inside the administration. But you’ve got a vast majority of voters, especially independent voters, center-right or center-left voters who will be in play in November, that are looking at 401(k)s, who lost 40 percent, 50 percent, looking at businesses that are shut down.”
And those pocketbook issues are what has the president so worried and are causing him to lash out, Steele concluded:
“That’s what’s scaring Donald Trump. That’s why Donald Trump is manic about opening the economy. He’s not manic about opening the economy because some IG report, using that as a distraction. He’s manic about opening the economy and pushing because that narrative is gone — it’s toast. It is going to be hard to get back.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P855vggR0U8&feature=emb_logo
It’s hard to argue with what Steele said. 36 million Americans are unemployed, and many of those jobs — most notably in the food service and lodging sectors — may never come back. As the old saying goes, Elections are about the economy. And right now the U.S. economy is in a ditch. Voters tend to take such things out on the incumbent.
Trump should indeed be worried, manic, and even scared. His record as president is one of failure and incompetence. It seems unlikely that Americans are going to reward such a sorry track record.
Featured Image Via NBC News
