President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with China is reportedly causing a loss of patience among Senate Republicans whose constituents are the very farmers being hurt by it.
Trump slapped new tariffs on China this week, which were immediately followed by retaliatory tariffs.
The tariffs caused the stock market to fall as farmers across the country continue to face long term financial ruin.
Up to now, Senate Republicans have refused to intervene to stop Trump’s trade war folly, but as the threat of recession grows and farmers become more desperate, some Republicans are finally starting to get sick and tired of it, especially with the 2020 Election right around the corner.
On CNN Tuesday, political correspondent Dana Bash reported on the new cracks forming between Trump and his Senate allies.
“Patience is wearing thin,” she said. “I heard that this morning doing some reporting on this. The people who elected the president and in these ag-states, this is Trump country. And they like the idea of a long term solution for dealing with China.”
“They have been willing for a long time to give the president running room,” Bash continued. “But when you’re talking about small businesses or the ag-producing states, the farmers, they have been hurting for a while with regard to this trade war. And they really want to see a solution and it has been potentially temporary when it comes to their hurt, but now they’re worried — and I’m hearing this from people who represent farmers and also from, you know, even heard it from people when I was out in those areas, covering some elections, they need to make sure that this isn’t a permanent situation.”
Bash went on to observe that if the trade war drags on much longer, Senate Republicans may start to abandon the leeway they have carelessly given him over the last year since he announced his trade wars against China, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union.
“This really is the bread and butter of their constituency in these farm states,” Bash concluded.
Here’s the video via YouTube.
A particular example Bash gave is Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who could be defeated in 2020 for failing to stand up to Trump. The state voted for Obama twice and her seat has been occupied by a Democrat before. So, her seat is vulnerable and will only become more so the longer the trade war drags on. The same can be said about other senators as well.
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