U.S. President Donald Trump looks up as he participates in a round-table on antifa September 22, at the White House in Washington (REUTERS)
New York Times columnist and former attorney David French says President Donald Trump marched into the White House the second time around determined to push around all who oppose him and impose a powerful executive on other government branches. But, these days, Trump’s embarrassing blunders are snatching the steam from his engine.
“It's the perfect storm right now that the Democrats may be able to take advantage of in November,” said French, speaking on Democrats’ plan to investigate multiple claims of corruption from the White House and the Trump family. “So it's just a fact that voters are more tolerant of corruption when they feel comfortable financially. So, they're going to be less interested in social reform if they're feeling comfortable with their financial situation.”
“We've seen this throughout American history,” French told MS NOW anchor Nicole Wallace. “When voters feel good economically, they're a lot more permissive towards their politicians. When they don't feel good economically, they get a lot more strict and a lot more alarmed at their politicians’ behavior.”
French accused Trump of “running the most corrupt administration I've ever seen in my entire life” while engaging in economic behaviors that are hurting Americans, whether it's the tariff war — which French described as “a complete own goal” — and the Iraq war and the effects of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on American pockets at the gas pump.
“Again, Iran did not attack us. This was not a response to an attack from Iran. This was a war of choice. And so he's got at least two things that he's done that are making his life worse politically and making Americans’ lives worse economically. And they're going to be more concerned about corruption when their own finances are hurting,” said French.
Fifty-five percent of Americans in a recent poll were negative about their own finances, French argued, adding that these same people do not want to hear that Trump and his family are making off “with billions of dollars in grift and corruption during the second term.”
“When voters feel financially insecure, the last thing that they want to see is their politicians getting rich,” said French.