House Democrats who spoke with CNN anchor Jake Tapper have expressed frustration with President Donald Trump’s deft handling of the so-called “squad,”with one calling his attacks “politically brilliant.”
Tapper and colleague Dana Bash reported that while Democrats came together to condemn Trump’s allegedly “racist” comments this week, they were dismayed at the fact that the president managed to lump the extremist squad in with the rest of the party.
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Trump, as everyone now knows, called out the four Democrats — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) — for their anti-American views.
Many questioned his motives, noting that the party was starting to fracture, as Ocasio-Cortez called Pelosi racist after the House speaker took a few of her own jabs at the New York socialist.
Turns out, according to the lawmakers to whom CNN spoke, Trump may have known what he was doing all along — in that a fractured party is not beneficial to his re-election bid. But a party unified behind these radical zealots in the squad means all Democrats can now be linked to their extremist views.
President is savvy. Some lawmakers expressed their anger at AOC and the others, criticizing them at a time when they’re all supposed to be united in fighting Trump.
They also have grown weary of having to talk about the freshman congresswoman rather than arguing for their own policies.
“I can’t tell you the number of members who are angry and annoyed about them criticizing us,” one House Democrat told Tapper.
11/ Others noted that this week the House Democratic Caucus stood by a group that is not perceived as standing by them.
“I can’t tell you the number of Members who are angry and annoyed about them criticizing us,” said House Dem 3.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 17, 2019
Another House Democrat admitted defeat at the hands of the savvy president, referring to his ability to shift the message as “politically brilliant.”
“The president won this one,” the congressman said, specifically referencing Trump’s “go back” comments. “What the president has done is politically brilliant. Pelosi was trying to marginalize these folks, and the president has now identified the entire party with them.”
It isn’t just these anonymous Democrats who are admitting Trump won.
Other signs are prevalent.
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Three separate polls recently have shown the president is gaining support in the face of his controversial tweets. Republican support has gone up 5 points; nearly 90 percent of GOP voters were OK with the comments; and his overall approval jumped 4 points, leaving him well ahead of former President Barack Obama at the same time during his presidency.
Internal polling and advisers must also be telling the president that his attacks on the anti-American squad are working.
Three separate polls recently have shown the president is gaining support in the face of his controversial tweets.
His criticism of Omar at a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Wednesday night — along with his goading the media into covering her allegations of tax and immigration fraud — show he’s not about to let up.
The aforementioned Democrat is absolutely right: Trump won this battle. In 2020, he’s going to win re-election. And the squad is going to be significantly responsible for that.
If you thought they hated America before, what will it be like when they realize their own insanity helped push voters to give Trump four more years?
This piece originally appeared in The Political Insider and is used by permission.
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