Trump appeals to loyalists as support slips, agenda stalls
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is trying to combat new weakness in his Republican base and re-energize his staunchest supporters after months of White House backbiting and legislative failures.
White House officials have been urging the president to fire up his efforts on immigration and other agenda items favoured by conservatives, evangelicals and working-class whites who propelled him to the Oval Office. The president has increased his media-bashing via Twitter and staged rallies hoping to marshal his base to his defence. On Monday, he lashed out at Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal in multiple tweets after the lawmaker expressed support for a special counsel’s probe of Trump’s associates’ links to Russia.
The surge underscores Trump’s shaky political position not yet seven months into his presidency. Trump has remained deeply unpopular among Democrats, and there are signs that his support among Republicans may be softening. His advisers are aware that a serious slip in support among his core voters could jeopardize hopes for a major, early legislative accomplishment and would certainly increase Republicans’ worries about his re-election prospects.
Trump on Monday dismissed his own adviser’s statement on his political standing after White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway acknowledged that the president’s approval rating among Republicans “needs to go up.”