Even if Trump’s core holds, the erosion of support from independents and wavering Democrats would jeopardize his ability to build support in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, said Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster based in Wisconsin.
“He is backing into a corner more than anybody I’ve ever seen. He’s doing it with politics, he’s doing it with electorate considerations, he’s doing it with the way he views the world,” Maslin said. “He’s standing increasingly on his own island and the question is whether he’s going to have the means and the ability to come to shore because that island isn’t big enough to win again.”
The White House says the administration is simply keeping the promises that candidate Trump made.
“Voters don’t ask who can win, they ask who can lead,” Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said at an event sponsored by Axios this past week.
The message of Trump’s recent overseas trip was directed at his supporters back home: He reinforced his “America First” slogan by traveling to NATO’s headquarters to demand that allies increase defense spending and refused to explicitly support its mutual defense pact. (At a White House news conference Friday, Trump did say the U.S. was committed to that shared defense.)
“If you asked most Americans where they are, they are in a position where we have our own problems, we don’t need to be taking care of the world’s problems,” said Greg Strimple, a Republican pollster based in Idaho, who said that Trump’s play could resonate beyond his base. “I think he is reaching out to the middle with a lot of these policies.”
WATCH: Trump focuses on infrastructure, makes no mention of Comey in weekly address
Trump’s legislative agenda has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill, in large part due to divisions among his Republican allies on health care and taxes. The Republican-led bill to dismantle the Obama-era health law narrowly passed the House, and Senate Republicans have struggled to bridge their divide in crafting legislation.
Democrats have showed little inclination to work with Trump, and the White House has made almost no effort at outreach.
By contrast, Republican George W. Bush, the most recent president to win election while losing the popular vote, took steps during his first months in office to woo the opposition party. He worked closely with Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, a leading Democrat, to pass the “No Child Left Behind” education law.
And Trump? He held a pair of meetings Tuesday at the White House to go over his legislative agenda.
Only Republicans were invited.
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