Maybe it's attrition, maybe it's admission, but I'm seeing a lot more people agreeing with President Trump lately.
Scoff if you want, I'll demonstrate what I mean.
In the past few days alone, a number of Democrats have had to shift their positions in a way that appears to be in agreement with the U.S. Commander-in-Chief.
Predominantly anti-Trump leftists like Elizabeth Warren or Pete Buttigieg may be opposed to POTUS on some things, but on matters that have defined Trump's first term in office, they are caving.
Enter Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who will know as a gay man there is nowhere in the Middle East he is safer than in Tel Aviv, recently agreed with Trump on the U.S. embassy.
It's unsurprising given internal polling is probably screaming, "not so far to the left!" at them. It's an opportune time to switch lanes because hopefully – as far as they're concerned anyway – no one will remember by the time they're on a debate stage with the 45th President.
BUTTIGIEG AND ISRAEL
The left's position when it comes to Israel has been increasingly under scrutiny during the Trump administration.
There's no doubt Trump's been Israel's wildest dream come true in recent years. From the Golan Heights to the Saudi relationship to the recognition of Jerusalem as the nation's capital. Trump has done all the things successive presidents have promised but never followed through on.
Enter Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who will know as a gay man there is nowhere in the Middle East he is safer than in Tel Aviv, recently agreed with Trump on the U.S. embassy.
This was an issue critics called "controversial" and "wrong" and "harmful to peace".
They said it would inflame the region, offend the Palestinians, and altogether create an environment of negativity. It has of course done none of these things.
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Pete Buttigieg speaking at a fundraiser in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Lorie Shaull, Flickr, CC)[/caption]
Asked if he'd move the embassy back to Tel Aviv, Buttigieg replied: “I think what’s done is done,” the former Navy intelligence officer said. “I don’t know that we’d gain much by moving it [back] to Tel Aviv.”
He stopped short of praising Trump and the Israelis, no doubt because his party's base is moving further from historically pro-Israel positions.
“[I]f you’re going to give somebody something that they’ve wanted for a long time in the context of a push-pull, even with a strong ally like Israel ... you don’t do that without getting some kind of concession,” he said.
But the thrust of the maneuver now appears to be correct in Buttigieg's mind.
WARREN AND CHINA
President Trump is a walking meme generator.
From covfefe (accidental) to Crooked Hillary (intentional), the man has a way of making things go viral in the public, collective conscious.
This is true also of "GHINA" (how Trump appears to pronounce China).
"Ms. Warren and Donald Trump agree on at least one thing: America’s currency problems are hurting workers." – New York Times
He's a salesman at the end of the day, and good salesmen recognize the value of standing out (unique selling point) and repeating the message over and over until the buyer "gets it".
Well, we get it. And apparently Liz Warren does, too.
The New York Times noted of her economic plan: "Ms. Warren and Donald Trump agree on at least one thing: America’s currency problems are hurting workers."
Fox's Tucker Carlson has noticed Warren's "economic patriotism", too. Which appears to be another way of saying "economic nationalism", which Trump via Steve Bannon has been promoting for years.
"She says the US government should buy American products when it can. And of course it should. She says we need more workplace apprenticeship programs because four-year college degrees aren't right for everyone. Well, that's true. She says that taxpayers ought to benefit from the research and development that they pay for," Carlson said in his opening television show monologue in early June.
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Warren (Flickr, CC)[/caption]
Now remember, on the run up to 2016, Trump was mocked for his China obsession. Joe Biden is still trying to play that hand. Honestly, I think it'll be Biden's undoing.
JEREMY HUNT AND SADIQ KHAN
No, Sadiq Khan isn't agreeing with Trump. That might be a bridge too far. But Jeremy Hunt is.
Don't worry if you're thinking, "Who?"
Were it not for broadcasters repeatedly (and I reckon intentionally) tripping over their words and mispronouncing his name as a word that rhymes with "Hunt", he'd be eminently forgettable.
Hunt is a Conservative Party leadership candidate and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. He's also Britain's chief diplomat i.e. the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. But again, he's pretty forgettable.
He's not very Trumpian, either.
"...I 150% agree with the president." – Jeremy Hunt
Classically a 'Remainer', Hunt has also backed a second referendum in Britain, because he didn't like the outcome of the first. So imagine my shock™ when Hunt came down on Trump's side in his latest and somewhat prolonged fracas with London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
"...the sentiment is enormous disappointment that we have a Mayor of London who has completely failed to tackle knife crime and has spent more time on politics than the actual business of making Londoners safer," said Hunt during a Conservative Party leadership hustings. He concluded: "...and in that I 150% agree with the president."
Cue the hand wringing and outrage from the establishment media in Britain, as well as his own boss, the Prime Minister.
All the other leadership candidates blasted Trump for assailing Khan, and Boris Johnson kept quiet because Boris Johnson is Boris Johnson.
SENTIMENT
I guess you're probably thinking, "Wow Raheem, you found three people who agreed with Trump on something".
Yes, yes I did.
But I'm also interested in the public sentiment writ large. And on that basis, I submit to you a Google Trends chart displaying interest in the search term "Impeach".
Democrats have tried to make impeachment go viral, as sentiment and indeed in a legal sense. It doesn't appear to be working.
In fact it looks like the public is increasingly disinterested in impeachment, especially when they realize what InfoWars' Millie Weaver made some silly billies at Pride realize this week: impeaching Trump means President Pence.
I really enjoyed this:
I reckon, despite what some are pushing into the news, Trump's favorables out there are not just good, but increasing.
I also reckon most statesmen (including Khan, to be honest) are looking at what Trump has achieved so far and thinking, "Shoot, I wish I could have done that".
That doesn't necessarily translate into victory in 2020, especially not if the economy takes an increasingly expected nasty turn.
But it's a great place for MAGA 2.0 (I loathe 'KAG' as a phrase) to build an effective campaign.
Now if only Trump and his campaign would crow more about this stuff.
Raheem Kassam is the Editor in Chief of Human Events.
