Boston Herald

MITT’S CRYSTAL BALL HAS DEMS SEEING RED

Romney predicts Trump wins

- Joe BATTEN FELD — joe.battenfeld@bostonhera­ld.com

Turns out Mitt Romney might be better at predicting elections than he is at winning them.

The two-time presidenti­al loser is already calling the 2018 and 2020 races, and to Mitt it’s clear: Trump and Republican­s are the winners.

The former Massachuse­tts governor and super wealthy venture capitalist seems to be basing his prediction on what? Talking to his super wealthy friends?

“I think President Trump will be renominate­d by my party easily, and I think he’ll be re-elected solidly,” Romney said at a recent gathering in Utah. “I think that not just because of the strong economy and because people are increasing­ly seeing rising wages, but I think it’s also true because I think our Democrat friends are likely to nominate someone who is really out of the mainstream of American thought and will make it easier for a president who is presiding over a growing economy.”

“Solidly” might be a bit strong but Mitt is right that incumbent presidents and parties tend to do well if the economy and stock market are strong, according to pollsters.

“He’s right in the sense of looking at the bull market,” said Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos. “History has shown that can be a big mover of public sentiment. If the market continues as Romney suggests, that can only help Republican­s in close fights.”

But that’s a big “if.” If the market crashes or gets weak, the opposite will happen: Republican­s will suffer at the polls.

And Romney doesn’t take into account that this isn’t just any ordinary president. This is a president who is mocked and attacked every day in the media. Trump is unpredicta­ble — just look at the on-again, off-again, onagain North Korean summit. The 2020 race is just as unpredicta­ble.

But again, Mitt is right — the Democratic Party is likely to nominate someone on the far left whose positions will be out of the mainstream of middle America. If that happens, Trump wins.

And Trump isn’t facing any major opposition in his own party, as Romney says. A Suffolk University poll showed Trump romping over John Kasich and other rivals in New Hampshire.

So, hate to break it to you Democrats, but Trump may just defy the experts again and win a second term, as long as the economy continues to hum along and Democrats screw up.

Voters don’t care that Trump didn’t sing all the words to “God Bless America.” Voters don’t care whether Melania is in the White House. Voters don’t care about Paul Manafort.

But voters do care if their 401(k) goes up a few thousand dollars.

And if Trump pulls off a successful summit with Kim Jong Un, look for his approval ratings to rise. They might even just hit 50.

Then it’s really time for Democrats to worry.

 ?? AP FILE PHOTO ?? FOUR MORE YEARS: Former Massachuse­tts governor and current U.S. Senate candidate in Utah Mitt Romney said he believes President Trump will win re-election.
AP FILE PHOTO FOUR MORE YEARS: Former Massachuse­tts governor and current U.S. Senate candidate in Utah Mitt Romney said he believes President Trump will win re-election.
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