Veteran diplomat Richard Haass called Thursday “one of Donald Trump’s best days as president,” citing a trade deal with China, a rising stock market and the victory of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pro-Brexit Conservative Party.
“You said something on the break that was fascinating, that was you thought yesterday may have been one of Donald Trump’s best days as president. Why?” MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough asked Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a frequent critic of Trump. Haass is a frequent “Morning Joe” guest.
“The stock market went up dramatically, showing the economy’s in decent shape,” Haass said, noting the Dow Jones closing on Thursday at an all-time record high. “You had the China trade deal outlines of a Phase One deal, which will help things.
“The avoidance of a government shutdown, apparently,” Haass continued. “Boris Johnson’s win. And you look at all of that and you’re Donald Trump waking up in the White House and the polls show it and you go, ‘Not bad.'”
Haass said the run of good news and the economy is what Trump needs to win as he runs for reelection next year.
“This is a formula where he has strong economics, he can go — regardless of who the Democratic candidate is, he’s going to run against the excesses of those people in Democratic Party who stand for something else,” he added. “And he’s going to basically say, you know, there’s a case for me.”
“And I think for Donald Trump, yesterday was the kind of day that you have to say he should never be discounted or counted out,” Haass concluded.
Trump congratulated Johnson after the Conservative Party won a majority of seats in Parliament in Thursday’s elections.
“Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN! Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT. This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!” Trump tweeted.