Blame China. Remake Economy: Trump Pivots to New Election Message Amid Pandemic
George Engelmann, a perennial swing voter in swing-state Wisconsin, says President Donald Trump has won his vote for November’s election thanks to his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Engelmann, who voted twice for…
George Engelmann, a perennial swing voter in swing-state Wisconsin, says President Donald Trump has won his vote for November’s election thanks to his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Engelmann, who voted twice for Democrat Barack Obama but switched his support to Republican Trump in 2016, believes the president is best suited to revive the virus-ravaged economy, not his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. He also trusts Trump to hold Beijing accountable for the novel coronavirus pandemic that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
“I definitely want Trump fighting against China rather than Biden, by far,” said Engelmann, 50, who works for a food distribution company in Racine County, Wisconsin.
He was highlighting two major pillars of Trump’s re-election messaging after the worst U.S. health and economic crises in generations forced his campaign to retool a message that had been built on economic prosperity under his presidency.
Several Trump aides say their 2020 campaign will now be chiefly defined by two themes: Trump is the only candidate who can resurrect the economy and that Biden will not be as tough on China, a country Trump is blaming for the pandemic.
It is a message resonating with Trump’s base, according to interviews with more than 50 voters in three swing counties in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – states Trump won in 2016 by less than a percentage point and that will decide whether he can win a second term.
Trump officials say the new messaging, being sent to Republican state leaders across the country and pushed in new anti-Biden ads across swing states, reflects internal and external polling data that shows voters trust Trump more on the economy, and that Americans across party lines distrust China.
“Voters know China was a bad actor on the virus. The president made clear to pinpoint China as the origin of the virus,” said Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s spokesman. “We’re going to push this.”