MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We want to focus on this story a bit more with Alex Conant. He is a Republican strategist and partner at the communications firm Firehouse Strategies. Good morning, Alex.
ALEX CONANT: Good morning.
MARTIN: So this economic speech is pretty similar to past versions that President Trump has given. Danielle told us that the president didn't seem to go off topic as much as he often does. How do you think he did?
CONANT: I mean, I - look, you can just tell that the White House, and this president, is so frustrated because they look at the economic data. They see really strong job growth. They see unemployment holding steady. They see inflation way down from where - from its highs. And then they look at things like consumer confidence and their poll numbers, and there's a mismatch. The public doesn't feel like the economy's as good as it's doing, and so they feel like they need to get out there and sell it. And that's clearly what the president was trying to do yesterday with more focus and, I think, discipline than we've seen from him in the past. He's - he gave a very on-script speech, at least by his standards, because you can tell that they really want to make the case to the American people that the economy is better than they think it is.
MARTIN: OK. So the president has made these speeches and comments about affordability before, but on the one hand, he sort of dismisses it as a problem. He claims to have solved it as a problem. In some cases, the data contradicts what he's saying, and in any event, as Danielle's told us, that's not necessarily how people experience it. I mean, how effective is basically a stump speech, delivered even over and over again, at changing voters' minds about how they feel about their own circumstances?
CONANT: Well, I think there's two things going on. One is that it's well-understood by political consultants and communications experts like me that public opinion lags economic data. So the economy can be improving, but it takes a while for the public to see it, to feel it, to - frankly, to trust that their lives are getting better. They still remember when the price of groceries and things were a lot cheaper a year or two ago, and they're still worried about their jobs. They don't see - they don't feel that there's a lot of job opportunities out there. That said, the White House has to keep making the case. They cannot surrender the economic issue. Trump won because he promised to get prices under control and to help the economy. They - voters trusted him more than Biden or Harris on the economy. It's why he won. If he loses that issue, Republicans are completely toast in the midterms and beyond.
MARTIN: I want to ask you about the fact that the president barely mentioned Minnesota in yesterday's speech. Now, we've heard from Republicans who are - look, if they're not openly critical, they're at least expressing reservations about the administration's tactics in Minnesota, you know, and elsewhere. Yesterday, we spoke with a Republican state representative, Nolan West of Minnesota, on this program. I'll just play you a short clip of what he said.
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NOLAN WEST: It was absolutely horrifying to see. I'm glad it looks like there's a corner being turned with the conversations between Governor Walz and President Trump, and bringing in Tom Homan as somebody who doesn't have a bunch of statements that they refuse to retract. So I'm optimistic that we're trending in the right direction now, but the response was terrible.
MARTIN: He was talking specifically about the killing of Alex Pretti, and also sort of the sort of trashing of his reputation in the comments. We all know what was said by certain...
CONANT: Yeah.
MARTIN: ...Administration officials. Do you get the sense that the president is listening to Republican voices like that?
CONANT: I do. I happen to be from Minneapolis, so, you know, seeing these photos - it's heart-wrenching, but you don't have to be from Minnesota to be troubled by what you're seeing. And I think you're seeing a lot of Republicans quietly and publicly telling the White House, these optics are terrible. The - they - we talked earlier about how the economy is Trump's winning issue. Immigration is his other winning issue. And he's at risk of losing both because people don't like the direction of the economy, but they also don't like the direction of his immigration enforcement. So I think you're seeing a subtle shift in policy, certainly a shift in tone, over the last 48 hours after the shooting in response to public sentiment. And I don't think you're going to see the president stop his immigration enforcements, but I do think we'll see a different tone moving forward. And hopefully, that will be more - hopefully that'll be better for public safety, but also better for his public opinion numbers.
MARTIN: OK. So Trump sent his border czar, Tom Homan, to take over day-to-day operations in Minnesota. But then he downplayed that, telling Fox News it's only a little bit of a change, and he brushed off the attack on the Minnesota congresswoman. And I just wonder, basically - you know, we - she was attacked by a person, and we know that these things are often very serious. He has - himself has been attacked at public events. And I just wonder how people see that. Do they see that as really a change in tone?
CONANT: Well, we'll find out. I mean, it's a great question. Donald Trump is not one to ever back down, but I think his superpower in his political career has been his ability to set the agenda. And he's losing the ability to set the agenda in the last couple weeks as events on the ground have really, you know, overtaken. You know, he wants to be talking about the healthy economy, wants to be talking about foreign policy successes. But instead, he's stuck talking about Minnesota. Watching that interview on Fox yesterday, it's so clear that that's not what he wants to be talking about.
MARTIN: That's Alex Conant. He's a Republican strategist with Firehouse Strategies. Alex, thanks so much.
CONANT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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