Although the chaos from the George Floyd riots and economic destruction of coronavirus have shed doubts on Donald Trump’s reelection chances in 2020, Pulitzer Prize-winning financial journalist David Cay Johnston believes there is still hope for the president.
In an op-ed for The Daily Mail , Johnston notes that he first met Trump in 1988 and has studied him for 32 years, including investigations of his Atlantic City casinos and alleged Mafia ties.
“I know the man, his motivations and his modus operandi well,” Johnston wrote.
“Let me tell you that it would be a huge mistake to assume he has lost the 2020 election.”
Johnston continues to suggest that the current events could actually work to help Trump win in November.
“Critical as I have long been of him, I’ve always admired his ability to convince millions of people that he is a modern Midas, a ‘very stable genius’, to use his own phrase — and the only person who can save America. That these claims are nonsense doesn’t matter as long as enough people believe them.”
According to Johnston, Trump must do three things to win reelection: convince Americans that responsibility for the coronavirus falls onto China, state governors, and local mayors; quell social unrest, which Johnston claims will happen naturally in the coming weeks; and bolster the economy.
Johnston says that the third goal will be easiest for Trump, who can fall back onto tax cuts and removal of business regulations, which has already begun on the environmental front . In addition, Johnston notes that the majority of large corporations don’t want Democrats in power and can help Trump by promising job-hire schemes and expansions.
Johnston also points to Trump’s ability to appeal to more impoverished Americans who feel left behind, as well as the real estate mogul’s 2016 success among voters over the age of 40. As Johnston notes, such older Americans make up more than 70 percent of the voting-age population and are more likely to vote than the younger demographic, which Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
“The lesson for November’s election is clear,” Johnston concluded. “Don’t — for a single moment — write him off.”
Others, such as Financial Times’ chief U.S. commentator, Ed Luce , believe that the Trump administration is in its final days. During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe , Luce called on Republican Senators to stop covering for Trump’s failing administration and follow in the footsteps of Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, and current Defense Secretary Mark Esper ?— all of whom have spoken out against the president.
