By Jeffrey A. Rendall
Iran and affordability are the topics of the day; Trump must learn how to present them
When a president’s approval rating drops to a certain point, it’s time to stop making excuses and start acting to not only halt the regression, but send it in the opposite direction.
Such was the case last week when a generally accepted and credible poll emerged showing President Donald J. Trump’s job approval rating sinking into near-political death territory, a moment that must have caused consternation, great gnashing of teeth and much wringing of hands at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The eternally optimistic and supremely confident commander-in-chief offered no hint that anything was wrong, and anyone who understands Trump – and who doesn’t know him by now – figures he’ll never, ever, let the naysayers get to him.
Yet the president is also a voracious news consumer, so he’s absolutely aware of what’s taking place with the surveys. Is it time to reach for the panic switch yet?
In an article titled, “Trump’s approval rating falls to 33%, lowest of second term”, Jeff Mordock reported at The Washington Times last week:
“President Trump’s approval rating dropped to the lowest level of his office tenure as the war in Iran and the economy dragged his number down to 33%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday.
“The poll found that 64% disapproved of Mr. Trump’s performance in the White House. The 33% approval represents a decrease of 2 percentage points from just two weeks ago when that rating hovered around 35%. The rating is lower than at any point in his current term and is tied for the lowest of his first term, when he hit the number in December 2017.
“Respondents said their view was shaped by Mr. Trump’s handling of the war in Iran, a conflict that has boosted the cost of and slowed a fifth of the global oil trade. Mr. Trump said when the war started in February that it would be resolved in a few weeks, but Iran has proved resilient. The poll found 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of [Independents?], predicted the Iran conflict would extend for a long time. Only 16% said the conflict would end in a few weeks.”
Ouch. These aren’t great numbers no matter how you break them down, and a wise analyst (or even a politician) would do him or herself better to acknowledge the implication rather than working to put the most positive spin on the data.
The only problem is human beings entrenched in the world of politics aren’t always wise when egos are involved and competing personalities clash and vie for power.
I believe it’s known as “human nature”.
Looking at it objectively, the Iran War drags down the Republican Party’s entire effort. The side issues of “affordability” and Trump’s personality and leadership style are also in there somewhere, but if the Iran mission had concluded swiftly as Americans were led to believe by the policymakers, then we wouldn’t be talking about it at all by this time. If that were the case, we would’ve moved on to other, more succinctly encapsulated topics and Iran would dwell right next to Venezuela (remember the drug boats?) in the “been there, done that” category of American discourse.
But Iran hangs on. Most sensible people recognize that the war isn’t going badly – and we’re almost assuredly “winning”, if there is such a thing in this instance – but the attitudes persist.
To someone who wouldn’t know better, Iran’s starting to look a lot like Iraq did over twenty years ago. There shouldn’t still be resistance, but there is. American leaders are frustrated with the slow progress of the fighting and targets may be running out, yet hot spots crop up here and there and the establishment media is all over it.
The summer has all but passed yet the issue lingers, with, as the above cited survey results signifying, no discernible end in sight for a lot of people. Here’s thinking even if Iran’s Islamic controllers (where are they?) were somehow eliminated, that the contrarian forces would continue to make trouble. And that’s scary.
President Trump has become a victim of his own success. He’s issued orders, they were obeyed, and the battles have largely been won. But Iran was different from the beginning, starting with last year’s one-night air barrage that allegedly bombed Iran’s nuclear capability back to the stone age.
The fact we’re still active and engaged in the region demonstrates that the mission is not done. It’s not accomplished. The goals are worthwhile, the casualties have been reasonably low and Iran’s future nuclear capability has been severely curtailed… but is this enough?
Republicans wonder. The Republican-led senate hasn’t helped bolster the public relations effort, either. I hope Majority Leader John Thune and his team functions on perfectly flat floors or they’ll stumble just by walking across a room. Can’t the powerful people give the voters something to cheer about – like an enacted SAVE America Act – and take the focus and impetus off of Iran for a few minutes?
Instead, Trump fatigue is real. How to combat it?
To begin with, someone needs to summons the gumption to have a sit-down with the president and tell it to him straight – you’ve got to alter your campaign message. A drastic change is not called for, but somehow, some way, you’ve got to add humility to your presentation.
Constantly being told by administration spokesmen there is the “greatest economy ever” isn’t resonating with people. This could very well be true for those making gobs of dough due to the torrent of foreign and business investment Trump has stimulated, but Republicans MUST start pitching to the people who aren’t doing well. Because these are the American voters who will determine close midterm outcomes, the percentage point or two that makes the difference between winning and losing in x number of districts.
You know, these are the places where well-trained analysts point to their big media graphics boards and instantly pull up voter stats on Election Night. “This district went big for Donald Trump two years ago, but it’s underperforming those numbers by 10% today. That’s not a good sign. Back to you, Bret.”
The Americans who love the Trump economy are already sold. They don’t need to be informed, again, that “We have the most people working ever,” or, “The workforce participation rate is through the roof for constituency y.” It’s like white noise to the Trump fans, but sounds more akin to fingernails screeching on a chalkboard to those who aren’t sharing the opinion.
Is this simple enough? Donald J. Trump has had a remarkable life and career. He’s done things that have allowed him to pass “legend” status a hundred times over already. Trump’s presidency has featured one astounding success after another, and he’ll eventually receive the recognition he deserves from those who look past the public relations hiccups and focus on the beneficial things Trump has done for the country.
But, for the time being, none of that is important now. As the end of August approaches. We’ve got about two and a half months to acquire a measure of discipline and get the message tweaked and fixed. That ain’t adequate time to quell the talk about Iran and probably not enough to markedly improve gasoline prices, but a lot can still be done to help Americans feel better about how things in the country are today, nevertheless.
It’s not gonna get done by telling naturally pessimistic people that their lives don’t suck as much as they think it does. Apologies for being so blunt.
Big Bubba Bill Clinton was a master at framing political issues. Bubba could sell ice too an Eskimo or snake oil to a snake oil salesman. Trump is a master at arguing and negotiating, but even someone as skilled as Trump needs to brush up on his spiel. This election is too important to maintain a belief that the “people get it” and/or, “the polls are fake news”.
Wishing something’s the truth isn’t the same as making it so. When a president’s approval rating drops to the low 30’s, it’s panic button time. It’s legacy-building time, too. Decisions that are made today will have a profound impact on the coming years, because if Democrats are permitted — through pride or bull-headed stubbornness — to win this year, we ALL lose.
It’s not enough to point out that Americans are wary of Democrats too, the Democratic Socialists are extreme and unloved and Republicans will make up ground through redistricting, etc. Those are comforting thoughts. But if early November comes and the Democrats end up with power, they will use it.
Those are the stakes. Now wake up, Republicans.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .