Trump Would Just Be ‘Rude, Weird Guy On Twitter’ Without Strong Economy, ‘Intercept’ Editor Says

While it may be hard for Trump’s most vocal critics to find a redeeming quality about the current president, the Hill reports that the Intercept‘s White House Bureau chief, Ryan Grim, has found at least one — the economy.

Appearing on Hill.TV’s Rising with Krystal Ball on Wednesday, December 26, Grim was asked about the potential ease of defeating President Trump during the 2020 presidential election. Ball noted that, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, former Vice President Joe Biden recently made the comment to the Intercept that “anybody” could beat the president.

Grim didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with Biden, but did note that the economy will likely be a huge matter in the election — arguably one of the highlights of Trump’s presidency so far, and one that, per CNBC, the president can call “uniquely his.”

Grim noted that earlier in his presidency, Trump was consistently able to talk about the Dow and an unemployment rate that is nearly at a 50-year low. However, if the Federal Reserve follows through with rate increases throughout 2019, it means that this “necessarily slows the economy down.”

And despite an incredible unemployment rate, Trump’s “pitiful” approval rating will drop to an even lower number if the economy does in fact slow down, at least according to Grim. This may leave the president with little to highlight from his second year in office, one which is already plagued by government shutdowns and a high turnover rate of White House officials.

Intercept editor: Trump would be just a "rude, weird guy on Twitter" without strong economy (via @HillTVLive) https://t.co/09BoVvA3Fp pic.twitter.com/huvv6JiUze

— The Hill (@thehill) December 26, 2018

Without strong economic growth and low unemployment rates to boast about, Grim postulated, President Trump just becomes “this rude, weird guy on Twitter who’s also overseeing a poor economy.”

This, in turn, makes it “awfully difficult” for the president to get re-elected in 2020, he claims — especially in key places such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where Democrats performed strongly during the 2018 midterm elections.

“If that organization and that energy stays at the level that it was, then they should be able to drag whatever candidate makes it in the primary across the finish line,” Grim predicted.

President Trump’s success with the economy during his presidency thus far was not only touted by him, but by experts as well — including National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow. Kudlow also serves as a chief advisor to the president.

“I still believe the big story this year is an economic boom that most folks thought impossible,” Kudlow told CNBC in September. “I understand that he’s been in for a year and a half, but when you look at those numbers, this is not going away.”

Shortly after his comment, however, the markets have grown “sluggish,” and added the Dow’s worst Christmas Eve trading day ever to an already terrible December.