Donald Trump’s latest desperate act has even Republicans scratching their heads. As he cajoled voters from the Dallas stage Wednesday evening, the president’s message turned to a surprise topic: A $5,000 payout he said would go to every adult American — if Republicans keep their majorities in both chambers of Congress this fall. Asked about it on Thursday, John Thune, the Republican Senate leader, told Fox News that the chamber would “cross that bridge when we come to it,” and declined to get directly on board in an interview Thursday morning.
He quickly pivoted to claiming that the president’s core message was aimed at letting Americans keep more of their money from taxes, which he said all Republicans supported. But the White House put out a fact sheet on the plan Thursday afternoon cutting through such Thune-like equivocation.“America is winning again — and the American people should share in that success. Like a successful company returning cash to its shareholders, the Trump Dividend is possible only because of President Trump.
In his second term, he has unleashed trillions in new private investment, launched an unprecedented crackdown on government waste, and rebuilt American strength at home. That success belongs to the American people — and the Trump Dividend returns it to them.” The proposal seems to have dropped with a resounding thud on Capitol Hill — especially given the prevailing polling numbers for Republicans. For one thing, the Hail Mary by Trump is rooted in his being deeply unpopular, with Republicans across the country, especially in purple districts, paying the price.
An Economist/YouGov poll showed that 61 percent of voters do not approve of the president’s job performance. He is underwater among key parts of his coalition, too, since 55 percent of men disapprove, and 57 percent of white people, 62 percent of Hispanic voters 57 percent of voters without college degrees also do not approve of his performance. Democrats, meanwhile, have a seven-point lead in polling on a generic ballot.
Meanwhile, in Maine, Sen. Susan Collins trails Troy Jackson by three points in a CNN/SRSS poll taken last week. Collins has long won over Democratic voters in New England because of her independent brand.
But Jackson has attempted to tie Collins closely to Trump and his ads prominently feature photos of her next to the president. Collins for her part has criticized the president’s tariffs toward Canada, which shares a border with her state. But it’s not clear whether her independent brand will be enough.
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