Progressive strategist Ruy Teixeira said in an interview that aired on Hill.TV on Thursday that President Trump’s approval rating would be considerably lower if the economy weren’t doing so well.
“Trump as long as the economy stays pretty good, obviously is going to be very competitive in this upcoming 2020 election, and the Republicans are going to be competitive,” Teixeira, author of “The Optimistic Leftist,” told Jamal Simmons on “What America’s Thinking.”
“But what happens if there’s some downturn in the economy between now and the 2020 election, and that number starts going south where the Republicans lose their advantage on handling the economy” he continued.
“I think that really undercuts a whole lot of the political case they’re going to try to make in 2020 because again, that is really what’s propping them up at this point,” he said.
“It’s propping up Trump, and if it wasn’t for that, he would be remarkably unpopular.”
Trump has repeatedly touted economic growth under his administration, with the latest jobs report showing the economy added 263,000 jobs last month, well past expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 3.6 percent, the lowest since 1969.
Trump’s approval rating, however, continues to hover in the 40-percent range.
Trump’s approval rating was at 45.1 percent on Thursday, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
— Julia Manchester
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