How Trump handed the Democrats a gift by seeming to dismiss financial worries of Americans
The speaker of the House is trying to rescue the President of the United States from a bad blunder.
Or, to put it in layman’s terms, "Cleanup on Aisle 3!"
In what can only be viewed by Democrats as a gift-wrapped present from the political gods — and which you will hear repeated thousands of times before November — Donald Trump appeared to blow off concerns about the financial struggles of his fellow citizens.
Mike Johnson began: "I don’t know the context in which he made that comment–"
Hold on. When a seasoned lawmaker begins that way — even though the offending words were said on camera and already blasted around the world — he is saying he doesn’t want to answer the question. He wants to immediately pivot to his spin.
TRUMP PROMISED LOWER COSTS; THE IRAN CONFLICT NOW THREATENS THAT PLEDGE
A quick recap for those living without electricity: Donald Trump, who spends more hours talking to journalists than any president in history, had committed a linguistic felony. He is usually immune to such missteps by reframing the question, which all pols have some basic ability to do.
Before he left for China, a reporter asked whether he was motivated to make a deal with Iran because of "Americans’ financial situations."
"Not even a little bit," Trump said — and he didn’t stop there.
"The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all."
That’s where he stepped in it. Trump repeated the negative premise in a complete sound bite, rather than focusing solely on nukes.
The Johnson explanation:
"I can tell you the president thinks about Americans’ financial situations. I talk to him on average twice a day, sometimes three or four times a day, and we talk about it constantly. He is laser-focused on trying to resolve the conflict in Iran. Because if we get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, that will alleviate pressure on gas prices and other things in the economy."
Message: He cares.
Which is reminiscent of George H.W. Bush (who had a tendency to read his talking points) saying after winning the Persian Gulf War, in response to criticism that he was too focused on policy: "Message–I care."
The Louisiana congressman did try to convey that message without contradicting what Trump had actually said.
Now you could argue that Trump was just being ham-handed, that he was trying to convey that nothing was more important to him than stopping the Iranians on the nuclear front.
But in recent weeks, the president has talked a great deal about his White House ballroom. He has said Barack Obama should be imprisoned over what happened in 2016. He has continued his retribution campaign against political enemies, especially James Comey, who he’s called a "dirty cop" and against whom he orchestrated the "seashell" indictment after a previous one was thrown out of court.
None of this broadcasts a message of affordability, especially with soaring prices on such items as beef, coffee and tomatoes.
MIKE JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE GOP WORKING FULL STEAM AHEAD ON TRUMP'S 'AFFORDABILITY AGENDA'
In his comments the other day, Johnson turned to a favorite Trump punching bag. He said they were trying "to reverse the inflation of the Biden years that was at a 40-year high."
Small problem. The annual inflation rate was just announced at 3.8 percent for April, eliciting gasps from some TV economists.
The president did draw support from an unexpected source: John Fetterman.
The Democratic senator told Fox News this his stance is rooted in his support for Israel and Trump being the first president to take on the terrorist state of Iran.
"I mean, he said something that got clipped, saying, ‘I’m not thinking about American people financially.’ But what he really was saying, what he did say is like, ‘I am really thinking that we can’t ever let Iran building a bomb’.’
It didn’t get "clipped" by most media outlets. But I’m sure Trump appreciated Fetterman’s vote against invoking the War Powers Act, which would have required Hill approval before the war could continue–especially with three Republicans breaking ranks with their party.
No president can single-handedly turn around the economic ship of state. Even with Trump’s pick, Kevin Warsh, confirmed as Fed chairman, there’s no guarantee that interest rates will quickly be cut, despite a long lobbying campaign by the president.
And he certainly didn’t help himself with his ill-chosen words.