It appears that over and above the media’s hatred of Donald Trump, a strong majority of Americans say Democrats should look to cooperate with President Trump. That includes striking deals, according to the inaugural Harvard-Harris poll.
The poll comes on the eve of Donald Trump’s first face-to-face with Congress in lieu of a genuine State of the Union address. That can only be held after a president has been in office for a year.
The survey had some interesting results. It found that 73 percent of voters want to see Democrats work with the president, against only 27 percent who said Democrats should resist Trump’s every move. If one were to read most media commentary, the media falls mainly on the resisting side.
What the survey indicates is Democratic leaders in Congress are under growing pressure by their liberal base to obstruct the president’s agenda. They would educate themselves better finding that in terms of dealing with Trump, the numbers are divided.
Fifty-two percent of Democrats polled say they should cooperate with him on areas of agreement and 48 percent saying they shouldn’t. The numbers do not suggest what the mainstream media puts forth as their perception of the Trump administration and its progress with Congress over the past month.
Ironically, those figures are nearly identical when the question is turned around. Sixty-eight percent of those polled say that Trump should be willing to compromise and find ways to work with Democrats in Congress. Thirty-two percent said Trump shouldn’t bend at all, even if it means finding ways to achieve his agenda without congressional approval.
It is too early in Trump’s presidency to find anything solid or long-lasting in those numbers. However, to the liberal media’s delight, Republicans are similarly divided here. Forty-eight percent of Republicans want compromise and 52 percent say Trump should be unwavering.
Perhaps Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard-Harris poll said it best; “This shows that voters want Trump and Democrats to compromise and if they don’t, they both may pay a heavy price with the electorate.”
Democrats are keenly aware that Trump’s popularity numbers are going up since his inauguration. As the primary obstructionist of anything Trump, Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) has said he’s hopeful he can work with Trump on issues where there is bipartisan overlap.
The senior senator from New York cited trade, infrastructure spending, rebuilding the nation’s inner cities, and closing the “carried interest” tax loophole. Whether that is because they want to work with Trump on those items or they have no choice remains a question unanswered.
Anyone with a pulse on Washington lawmakers is aware that the chances of bipartisanship this year appear slim to none. It should be remembered that more than 60 House Democrats boycotted Trump’s inauguration. In addition, GOP leaders in Congress don’t anticipate any help from the other side of the aisle.
It appears that politics rule over the interests of the American people. Only a strong president at this juncture can break the gridlock in Washington and that will mean the kind of leadership the town hasn’t seen from a president in a long time.
