Recently, Donald Trump sided with congressional Democrats to avoid a default and shutdown. The agreement raised the debt ceiling and continued government funding until December. He did it to avoid a clash with the "freedom caucus" (extreme right-wingers in the GOP), who wanted to attach all sorts of conditions to the bill.
Congressional Republicans (and their leaders) were shocked that Trump reached out to Democrats to avoid a messy fight in Congress. But the public was very happy with Trump reaching out to Democrats. A Rasmussen Poll showed that the general public, Democrats, Independents, and even Republicans approved of Trump's action.
And the public wants to see more compromising done in Washington. The second chart shows that both genders, all age groups, and all races would like to see Trump continue to compromise with Democrats.
The first action was easy though. No one but the most extreme Republicans wanted a government shutdown or default. Trump is going to have to do some real compromising to get Democratic votes on tax cuts, the budget, and immigration though -- all areas he is now talking with Democratic leaders about. Democrats are not going to approve large tax cuts for the rich and corporations, not going to approve of huge budget cuts affecting ordinary Americans, and not going to support building a $20 billion wall.
I agree with the public that there should be more compromising to solve this nation's problems. But we should not be thinking that Trump is willing to give up his right-wing agenda (or is an Independent as some pundits have stupidly said). He remains a right-wing Republican, and I doubt he'll be willing to make any real compromises. For him (and his Republican cohorts), compromise is when the other side gives in. We must make sure Democrats stand fast for what is good for all Americans -- not just the rich and corporations.
The top chart is from a new Rasmussen Poll -- done on September 10th and 11th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.
The second chart is from a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between September 10th and 12th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,313 registered voters), with a margin of error of 3.2 points.
Wow if you listen to the media it sounded like Trump was getting criticized for compromising. This shows the people feel the opposite. Can our media get any worse?
ReplyDeleteAnd can the Dems steer Trump towards projects they might agree on - like infrastructure, campaign finance, improving care for veterans? I even think he can be talked into Medicare for All - given the right set of circumstances.