If 2020 candidates ‘poo-poo’ everything they’ll ‘turn voters off’: Democratic strategist
2020 Democratic presidential candidates face a challenge when it comes to criticizing President Donald Trump, as new polling shows a solid majority of Americans believe that he’s doing a good job handling the U.S. economy.
However, when it comes to other issues, like the president’s foreign policy, it gets a bit murkier.
Democrats run the risk that they’ll ‘turn voters off’ if they ‘poo-poo everything,» said Fox News contributor and Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov on Fox Nation’s«Deep Dive.»
«There are blatantly good indicators on how the economy is doing,» said Tarlov. «People have a positive outlook. Wages are going up. Maybe they could go up at a faster rate, but they’re still going up. We’ve had decent GDP growth. We have low unemployment across all categories.»
A Quinnipiac University Poll, conducted Jan. 8-12, showed that 57 percent of registered voters approve of President Trump’s stewardship of the U.S. economy.
Though, when voters are asked about the President’s decision to order a drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Solemani on Jan.3, Democrats may have an opportunity to score some points, according to Tarlov.
Pollster and Fox Nation host Kristen Soltis Anderson noted: «There have been a couple of polls telling some conflicting stories about where people come down on whether President Trump made the right or wrong call when it came to the Soleimani airstrike.»
The Morning Consult/Politico poll, conducted Jan. 4-5, showed that 47 percent of registered voters approved of the president’s decision to order the airstrike on Soleimani when they were informed that the conflict appears to have de-escalated after Iran retaliated, but did not kill any American servicemembers.
On the other hand, an ABC News/IPSOS poll shows 56 percent of adults disapprove of the president’s handling of the situation with Iran in general.
Both of these surveys were conducted before the U.S. revealed on Thursday that 11 U.S. service members were flown out of Al Assad Air Base in Iraq and treated for concussion symptoms after Iran‘s rocket attack targeting two Iraqi military bases earlier this month.
On Friday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made a rare appearance touting the retaliatory strike.
Soltis Anderson asked: «Where do you think the smart place is politically for Democrats to come down on this, given these kinds of conflicting poll numbers we’re seeing?»
Tarlov said: «I think they have to be really solutions-oriented about this — to talk about the potential impact that us pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal had on the situation. We wouldn’t have had such an aggressive Iran if we had stayed in the deal… And we’ve heard a lot of the Democratic frontrunners harp on the Iran nuclear deal as one of their most important foreign policy points and things that they would do in their first hundred days if they got into office.»
TOP DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST DOWNPLAYS SOLEIMANI STRIKE FALLOUT
Tarlov also noted that renewed focus on foreign policy in the 2020 race posed a challenge for former Vice President Joe Biden and his vote to authorize military intervention in Iraq, as Democrats speak to «an America that is sick of endless wars.»
«That’s something Joe Biden has to talk about a lot, and with John Kerry as one of his main surrogates, it’s going to come up over and over again,» she concluded.
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Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche and Frank Miles contributed to this report.
