In looking for signs that President Donald Trump and Republicans might be turning a corner in a so far tough electoral year, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) turns to his own family.
Duffy (pictured above) said Friday on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that his mother — whom he described as a huge supporter of Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — put a small “Duffy” yard sign next to a huge Sanders sign during the last election.
Duffy told guest host Raymond Arroyo that his mother never had a good word to say about Trump — until he started getting results with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
“The last time we were on the phone, she said, ‘You know what? I gotta give him credit for North Korea. That is amazing what is happening over there,'” he said. “It was the first time my Bernie Sanders-supporting mother had something positive to say about Donald Trump.”
Duffy said Democrats mistakenly spend all their time criticizing Trump over alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign and “hush money” paid to a porn star who allegedly had an affair with him.
“Democrats aren’t focusing on the issues that America cares about,” he said. “[Americans] don’t care about Russia. They don’t care about Stormy Daniels. They knew … what Donald Trump was before he was elected.”
CNN offered fresh evidence this week that the anticipated “blue wave” might be breaking up months before the November elections. A poll commissioned by the network shows the Democrats’ “generic” advantage in congressional races — when voters are not given names, only party labels — stands at 3 percentage points.
That is down from 16 points in February.
“It was going to be a bloodbath in the Congress,” Duffy said. “We were going to lose 100 seats … The important thing is, we keep the House, OK, if we’re down 6 points. We might even keep the House if we’re down 7 points.”
Duffy said be believes the intensity and scattershot nature of the daily anti-Trump invective paradoxically might work to the president’s advantage.
“When you go after him for everything, they just don’t believe it anymore,” he said. “And they [everyday Americans] don’t look at what’s happening at the White House. They look at what’s happening in their own house, and they know that they have more money in their paychecks. And they have more opportunity.”
Duffy said Americans are responding to statistics like an unemployment rate that recently dipped below 4 percent, and foreign-policy news like this week’s return of three American prisoners from North Korea.
“I’m at the point, Raymond, where I’m gonna send a tweet out and tell Donald Trump to stop winning. I’m sick of winning right now, and take a break.”
“I’m at the point, Raymond, where I’m gonna send a tweet out and tell Donald Trump to stop winning,” he quipped. “I’m sick of winning right now, and take a break.”
Related: Manchin’s Lackluster Primary Performance Boosts GOP Hopes
Trump’s approval rating, while still low, has ticked up a few points since March. And his rating on specific issues, such as the economy, is even higher. Duffy said that might help explain recent attacks on Vice President Mike Pence.
When attacks on the president prove ineffective, people try for the number-two man, Duffy said.
“It just shows how bad they’re losing in their attacks on President Trump,” he said.
PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.
(photo credit, homepage image: Sean Duffy, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore; photo credit, article image: Sean Duffy, CC BY 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)
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