The GOP’s boxed in on Trump

NationalJournal.com

Republican candidates for Congress face a real dilemma, said Josh Kraushaar. With President Trump’s approval rating rising to close to 90 percent among Republicans, contenders in House and Senate races across the country see “no benefit to creating any space between their campaigns and the White House.” Indeed, most feel a need “to pledge unyielding support to the president.” But as Trump begins his second year in office, he’s gone rogue, rejected mainstream Republican positions on trade and immigration, and fully embraced his polarizing nationalistic agenda. That puts many Republican candidates in a box. If a trade war backfires on Midwestern farmers, “will they maintain their support for the GOP if their bottom line takes a hit?” If candidates echo Trump’s strong anti-immigrant rhetoric, do they alienate moderates and independents and energize Democrats? “It’s a Catch-22.” To satisfy their base, Republicans feel obligated to flaunt their red MAGA hats. But vocally backing Trump and his harsh rhetoric is very likely to alienate crucial swing voters in November. This is why Republican leaders like Sen. Mitch McConnell are openly gloomy and predicting a Democratic wave. By “marching to the beat of Trump’s drum,” Republican candidates are “heading closer to the political cliff.”