Why Republicans Will Not Run Away From Trump |
Why Republicans Will Not Run Away From Trump
By Liam Donovan and John Guida
Mr. Donovan is a Republican strategist and president at Targeted Victory. Mr. Guida is an editor in Opinion.
A U.S.-Iran cease-fire means at least a temporary halt to most military action. But the consequences of the war in Iran will reverberate for some time — in prices at the gas pump and elsewhere, and also politically, with slumping approval ratings for President Trump.
But the president isn’t on the ballot in November. What do Republicans think about how this war has gone? And what are they thinking about their prospects in the midterms and beyond?
The Republican strategist Liam Donovan explored these questions in a written conversation with John Guida, an editor in Times Opinion.
John Guida: The war in Iran has not been popular among the American public (many Republicans excepted). Congressional Republicans gave the president a wide berth to conduct military operations. What is your sense of what these (and other) Republicans really think about the war?
Liam Donovan: The posture of the congressional G.O.P. reflects where their constituents are — instinctually wary of protracted involvement in the Middle East, uncertain as to exactly what our current objectives are in Iran and relieved by the cease-fire to the extent they are following closely. They’re eager to give this president the benefit of the doubt, and his willingness to speak out against previous misadventures gives him additional credibility in the near term even as it has confounded expectations.
Guida: So you think that the surveys showing a significant majority of Republicans are with the president on Iran is guiding most G.O.P. politicians in Washington?
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