Democrats are alarmed by former President Donald Trump’s decision to skip the second GOP primary debate in order to meet with striking autoworkers.
Some Democrats have described the decision “kinda genius” and fear that Trump is outmaneuvering President Joe Biden.
According to the New York Times, Trump has decided to skip the debate, which is set for September 27, and will instead travel to Detroit, Michigan, where he will meet with auto workers and deliver a speech.
The United Auto Workers went on strike a few days prior to the release of this news.
Trump is the undisputed front-runner in the Republican primary, and his decision to forego the debate in favor of meeting with union members demonstrates that his campaign is looking beyond the primary and concentrating on running against Biden.
“Trump scooped us. Now if we announce we’re going, it looks like we’re just going because of Trump. We waited too long. That’s the challenge,” said by an anonymous Democratic strategist.
A union adviser stated that Trump’s decision to visit Detroit ahead of Biden demonstrates that the former president “actually has people who know what they’re doing.”
The union adviser continued, “He boxed Biden in. It was kinda genius.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) supported these assessments. The Democratic representative from California, who assists Biden with the auto workers’ strike, claimed that the president has failed to present a strong campaign message that appeals to working-class Americans like those who are currently on strike.
“We should not underestimate Donald Trump. He’s a survivor and this is going to be a very hard-fought campaign,” Khanna argued in a statement to Politico.
“We need a message to working-class Americans,” he continued. “Right now, they’re still hurting in terms of gas prices, food prices, housing costs, utilities costs, and they don’t feel like their wages are going up fast enough, and they feel like the very wealthy are getting too much of the rewards. That’s what I heard on the picket lines.”
Even the far-left “Morning Joe” anchors on MSNBC praised Trump’s “bold” and “smart” move.
On the other hand, the White House and the Biden campaign continue to claim that Trump is not “outmaneuvering” the president.
