Donald Trump Is Reportedly Making Republicans Nervous About The Economy
As the United States and China continue their trade war — The Inquisitr reported that both countries slapped new tariffs on each other’s goods on Sunday — Business Insider reports that Republicans are growing increasingly nervous about the slowing economy and recession indicators.
According to Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, he believes Trump’s trade war with China is undoubtedly a major factor in the U.S.’s economic slowdown. Although he admits the U.S. is in a “very good” place, he highlights the danger of continuing down the current path, which is creating trade concerns that appear to be stunting economic growth.
As the economy shows signs of slowing, Republicans are reportedly worried there will be more than one casualty of this new economic policy. They reportedly think that not only will Trump take a hit on his signature issue, it might cost them control of the Senate.
“There’s no question the tariffs have had a negative on the impact of the economy,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the conservative American Action Forum. “It’s pretty simple: There’s nothing about this that’s helpful.”
Democrats must win three seats to gain control of the Senate if a Democrat wins the 2020 election and four if a Republican wins. With Newsweek reporting that Republican states like Texas are on edge and Maine recently rated a toss-up following Senator Susan Collins’ vote of confirmation for Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, economic slowdown continues to fuel their uncertainty about keeping power in both the White House and Senate.
Finance>Weather > Republicans are on edge about the economy. Any..https://t.co/0ukCbyUMeS #economy pic.twitter.com/nhQQ1jwz0i
— Economy BusinessMag (@EconomyMag) September 1, 2019
Although Democrats managed to hold onto the Senate in the presidential election year of 2012 despite slow growth after the 2008 financial crisis, Holtz-Eakin highlights the difference between then and now.
“There’s a big difference between growth being slow coming out of the Great Recession versus growth being slow coming off the most rapid growth we’ve seen in quite some time.”
Per Reuters, the yield curve recently inverted — a sign that has preceded every recession in the last 50 years — although it should be noted that this curve doesn’t signify the length or severity of an economic downturn. While careful economic adjustments could delay a downturn, the fact that Trump’s economy is no longer booming could spell trouble for his chances of winning re-election in 2020.
In the face of a potential recession, Trump is reportedly looking for any kind of victory, as The Inquisitr reported. He believes he needs a victory to use for the basis of his 2020 re-election campaign in case of a recession, in which case he won’t be able to use the booming economy to convince voters to support him.
