Plunge party into peril

GOP growing nervous Trump’s policies will plunge party into peril

Trump and Pence trot out bad-cop, good-cop routine as fears rise over trade war and NATO spat.

By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO

While President Donald Trump was in Europe speaking for America’s interest in the world, Vice President Mike Pence was in the heartland speaking to its anxieties.

On Wednesday, as Trump excoriated America’s allies for taking advantage of his nation’s largesse, Pence was gliding through the greater Midwest, seeking to calm the nerves of farmers and political foot soldiers worried that the administration’s policies will irrevocably hit their pocketbooks and set back the party before the midterm elections.

The split screen — which Trump allies liken to the hands of a clock, perpetually in motion but not always close — underscores the administration’s high-risk, high-reward approach to global diplomacy and domestic policy that helped it claim the White House and keep its base energized and loyal, yet could plunge the GOP into peril if things go off the rails.

Republicans are growing nervous about the latter possibility.

“Going into the fall, there’s a real fear among our members that a trade war will squander the economic gains we made with tax reform,” a senior GOP official on Capitol Hill told POLITICO on Wednesday.

Trump’s tough talk with allies, coming ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, is adding to their discomfort.

A day before Trump tore into Germany on Wednesday at the start of a high-stakes North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Brussels, the Republican-led U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion supporting NATO, a move viewed as reflecting Congress’ concerns over the president’s menacing talk about the alliance.

“I think it is important that we demonstrate a strong commitment to the NATO alliance,” Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said in an interview on CNN. “I mean, this is something that has served freedom-loving countries well for half a century.”

In Brussels, Trump accused Germany of being “totally controlled” by Russia and lashed out at a controversial gas pipeline project. Trump also reiterated his calls for NATO leaders to increase military spending.

Even as he softened somewhat in meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, his remarks from earlier in the day continued to serve as the basis for questioning from reporters, who asked Macron whether he agreed with Trump that Germany is captive to Russia.

“No,” Macron said, bluntly, after Trump, perhaps flippantly, told reporters he was glad the press was asking the French president the question.

Back at home, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told reporters he didn’t agree with Trump’s accusation.

“I think sometimes he can be a little too critical of the other counterparts, and I don't think he should be critical,” Hatch said.

Trump’s approach is still largely viewed inside the White House and among political confidants as a winner, or at least as a net positive, confirming to voters that they finally have a president who puts their interests ahead of others’. A former Trump campaign aide said the polling they’ve reviewed so far on all of the administration's tariffs continues to confirm that contention.

“Most of these people are so excited that somebody is fighting for the country that they are willing to take a bit of a hit,” said the Republican operative, who expressed confidence that Trump’s tough talk will soon bring economic adversaries to the negotiating table. “Long before the midterm elections, we will have a trade agreement with China.”

But the uncomfortable reaction domestically to Trump’s renewed haranguing of European allies from members of his own party — and his dispatching of Pence to the Midwest to palliate mounting concerns about a trade war — may begin to foretell an acknowledgment that Republicans could pay a political cost for rocking the boat.

Democratic leaders, sharpening their campaign message head of the midterms, indicated they intend to exploit the issue by depicting the president’s behavior on the world stage as “an embarrassment.” They contend that he’s more interested in cozying up to Putin, who Trump recently suggested is easier to deal with.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement Wednesday: “His behavior this morning is another profoundly disturbing signal that the President is more loyal to President Putin than to our NATO allies.”

Meanwhile, Democrats up and down the ballot are warning that the trade war will devastate the economy — and they are making their Republican opponents answer to whether they agree with Trump. The administration on Tuesday upped the ante by publishing a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods it’s proposing to target with 10 percent tariffs.

Democratic messaging has largely focused on the party's candidates doing what’s best for constituents while arguing Republicans will serve as a rubber stamp for Trump.

And so far, Republicans are keeping a stiff upper lip about the political risk of Trump’s trade war. The Pence team framed his visit through the Midwest as part of the vice president’s packed campaign schedule — not a move of tariff damage control.

Pence was slated to raise money for congressional candidates and talk up the tax cut legislation that stands as the administration’s signal legislative accomplishment.

Still, Pence discussed the issue of trade in the same manner as Trump, often quoting the president.

“As we saw the president make clear from Europe today: This administration will never stop fighting for American agriculture — and we will always stand with America’s farmers 100 percent,” Pence was to say, according to advance remarks.

As Pence began the campaign and fundraising swing though Kansas City, Missouri, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Chicago, Trump seemed to recognize the brewing trade hazard awaiting him at home, saying in a tweet that “I am in Brussels, but always thinking about our farmers.”

“Other countries’ trade barriers and tariffs have been destroying their businesses,” Trump wrote in the post. “I will open things up, better than ever before, but it can’t go too quickly. I am fighting for a level playing field for our farmers, and will win!”