“Chevron, too much money. ExxonMobil, too much money. They’re going to give some of that back to the public and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price.”
President Trump, from the Oval Office"Oil prices DOWN, NOW! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT"Truth Social Post
I get negative feedback from readers when I say something positive about Trump. So let me be clear: Trump is corrupt, a sexual predator, and a constitutional scofflaw. Trump is a lying, narcissistic, sociopath.
I credit Trump only with being skillful, not with being good. We can learn from bad people.
Voters see Trump breaking his usual alliances to fight for them. People understand this one: The oil companies didn't do anything to deserve higher margins on oil, but they are getting a windfall and consumers are paying the price. That feels unfair and Trump is doing something about it. It is as simple as that.
Trump does not say what they should do. He demands they do it, even though he has no power to force them to do what he demands. People read that as being strong, decisive, and on their side.
Democrats who wonder how it is that a corrupt sexual-predator sociopath like Trump can win elections, should take note.
Trump shows he can be flexible when it is in the interests of voters. Trump has established that he is pro-oil company. He empowers them; they donate to him. He sabotages clean, renewable, cost-effective energy technologies to direct federal resources toward fossil fuels. He scoffs at Democratic fussing over climate change and carbon footprints. Trump is the oil companies' guy -- any voter paying attention knows that. So he is doing a version of that "Sister Souljah" comment of Bill Clinton having the courage to call a foul within his own team. We love you, oil companies, but don't get carried away!
Democrats could learn from that, too. Correcting excesses within one's team reads as courage and integrity.
Trump demonstrates that government can interfere with free enterprise. The general rule is let markets work in a capitalist society. Trump openly and proudly breaks that rule when it is in the public interest. Activist government is supposedly the brand of Democrats in the FDR tradition. Trump is stealing the Democratic brand.
Democrats could take note and reclaim it. And maybe they are.
I do not see the rift in the Democratic Party between the "moderates," or "establishment" Democrats and the "Democratic Socialists" as a division between left and more-left on a continuum. There is something else at work, too: bold energy. The rise of Democratic Socialist candidates springs from Democratic voters desire for the party to look active, alive, alert to the problems in America, and to accomplish something tangible, to use government to make lives better. They aren't primarily more left. They are bolder, better looking, and more articulate.
Trump can get away with telling oil companies to lower prices and not be attacked for being a communist. If a Democrat says what Trump said, then The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and Republican politicians would shout how this is proof that Democrats have become communist tyrants in the mold of Mao, Stalin, and Castro. Democrats should do it anyway. Being criticized for going to bat for consumers is a net positive for Democrats. Just make clear that they aren't doing it because they hate capitalism. It is because they care about consumers.
The public wants change. Populism in both parties show this. Some things in our economy aren't working well. Here is a look at one reason why:
So far Trump has done a better job of voicing worker frustration than have Democrats, but that is changing. The energy of change among Democrats is generational. Their activist candidates are young. They are wrenching the torch from the hands of the old guard. Republicans are not so lucky. The change agent for Republicans is not just deeply flawed in matters of character and judgment, he is 80 years old.
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