AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
President Trump hit the links this weekend while throngs of people hit the streets in cities around the country protesting him and his policies.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Donald Trump has got to go. Hey, hey. Ho, ho...
RASCOE: That's from yesterday here in Washington. And that's also where we'll start with NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Good morning, Mara.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: The theme of those protests was hands off, and they were planned to express opposition to government downsizing, Trump's economic policies and more. Does that anger reflect the feelings of Americans in general?
LIASSON: Yeah, I think it does. According to polls, voters disapprove of President Trump's handling of the economy. They don't like Elon Musk's dismantling of federal agencies. Right now, Trump's overall approval rating is lower than any other modern presidents at this point in his term. And it's not just the polls. It's voters. You know, we had three elections this week.
And in Wisconsin, which was the swing state that was closest to 2024 - Trump won it by only about one point - the Democratic-backed state Supreme Court candidate won by 10 points. And the biggest takeaway from that race was turnout because the Republican-backed state Supreme Court candidate actually won more votes than any other state Supreme Court candidate in Wisconsin history, but the Democratic candidate turned out even more. She got more votes than any Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin history.
So we've had a lot of actual data from voters. There were two Florida special elections in very red congressional districts this week. The Republican candidates did win, but their margins of victory were cut in half from 2024. So anger is a very, very powerful motivator in politics, and it seems to be working against the president and his party right now.
RASCOE: Well, Trump's tariffs have proven to be pretty unpopular also. What chances do you see of him backing off of them or getting reined in by Republican lawmakers?
LIASSON: Well, he has backed off of tariffs in the past, but this time, he and his advisers have said he is standing firm. He posted, quote, "my politics will never change." You know, the idea that trade deficits are a mortal threat to America's way of life is one of Donald Trump's longest-held and most deeply held core beliefs. You know, in order to enact these tariffs, he had to officially declare that the U.S. trade deficit was a national emergency. That declaration might be challenged in court, but it shows you how seriously he takes this.
And, you know, there used to be a theory that the financial markets were a kind of guardrail for Donald Trump, that he really cared about what Wall Street thinks. But so far, he doesn't seem to care. The stock markets have cratered. They are registering their fear and loathing of his trade policies. More and more economists are talking about stagflation, which is slow growth plus inflation.
But Donald Trump seems undeterred. And the message from the White House is that consumers should expect some, quote, "short-term gain for long-term pain." And the question is, will voters react to that message the way they reacted very negatively to Joe Biden telling them that inflation was just transitory?
And as far as Republicans reining in Trump, I think that's unlikely. Congress ceded its power over trade policy to the president long ago. There is a small handful of Republicans in the Senate and House who have co-sponsored bills to claw back that power, but I think it's very unlikely that they will pass.
RASCOE: And that's short-term, that the - the White House is saying expect short-term pain for long-term gain. That's what they're telling people to expect.
LIASSON: That's what they're telling people.
RASCOE: Yes. And is the goal of these tariffs to bring countries to the table one by one to negotiate them down or away, or is it a way to generate revenue for the government and to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.? In which case, these tariffs would need to stay in place, right?
LIASSON: Right. That's a very good question. The White House and the president have laid out so many different goals for these tariffs, and some of those goals contradict others. The White House says tariffs will bring in $600 billion a year. They'll pay for tax cuts. They'll balance the budget. But that would mean that they would be permanent. Sometimes, the White House says, they're just negotiating tactics in order to force other countries or industries to come to the president and make concessions. We know that that's something that the president likes. He talks about people coming hat in hand to him asking for exemptions, but those goals are in contradiction.
RASCOE: And the Senate budget plan passed early yesterday morning. What's in it, and what's next?
LIASSON: Well, what's in it are the Trump first-term tax cuts made permanent. That's about $5 trillion of tax cuts plus another 1.5 trillion of new tax cuts. Presumably, that's to fulfill Trump's promises to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime. What happens next is the Senate budget has to be reconciled with the House version, which includes very deep spending cuts, including what might have to be $880 billion of Medicaid cuts, and that could affect lots of Trump voters in red states.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Mara Liasson. Mara, thank you so much.
LIASSON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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