The backdrop of the 2020 presidential election has changed dramatically amid the coronavirus pandemic, but conservative policy analyst Steve Moore says President Donald Trump needs to double down on the economic policies of his first term to win over the electorate.
"Trump is going to have to be able to make two cases," Moore told Cheddar. "Number one, that he was the president who won the war against the virus, and God willing that will happen, and second of all, that he has a plan to put in place the very policies that he put in place in 2017 that worked."
But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy for Trump. A poor economy has historically been bad news for incumbents. Look no further than single-term presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.
"It's a brand new ball game when it comes to the presidential election. It looked like a month ago that Trump was going to win a landslide election. Now it's going to be a dog fight right to the end," he said.
For Moore, who founded the Committee to Unleash Prosperity that advocates against government spending and regulation, the fiscal and monetary stimulus are secondary to reopening up the economy as soon as possible.
He points to the steady drip of positive news coming out of states that have started to flatten the curve of infections, even as deaths rise. "This is an indication that we are getting much closer to the date at which we can reopen the economy. This is the most critical thing. It doesn't matter how many trillions of dollars of liquidity the Fed puts into the market. It doesn't matter how many trillions of dollars of spending Congress does. Those are of secondary importance to getting Americans up and working."
Moore proposed a rolling restart to the economy, in which areas less hard-hit by the virus open their businesses on a limited basis.
"We have to have testing. We have to have the best medical know-how in place," he said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
