Are Trump's tariff threats working?

Welcome back. We've just received this footage into our newsroom from Scotland. You're looking at US President Donald Trump meeting the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, ahead of their one-on-one meeting today, which the president has described as a bit of a celebration of their previously agreed to a rough trade deal last month between the two nations. And Keir Starmer has suggested that aid to the people who desperately need it in Gaza is also on their agenda, as they have conversations during the president's multi-day trip to Scotland. As soon as we get new information out of this conversation, of course we'll bring it to you live. And we've got some experts to talk about this and the big picture. Joel Payne and Kevin Sheridan are with me now. Joel, as you see on the left, is the communications officer for the political action committee Move On. He's also a CBSNews political contributor. And Kevin is a Republican strategist and the former senior advisor for the Romney-Ryan presidential campaign in 2012. Good morning, gentlemen. Welcome to you both. Kevin, let's start with you. Let's talk trade. That's the hot item. We just saw this new footage come into us. This seems like a win for President Trump in getting the EU to agree to effectively a framework of new terms. Is this more proof that as much as people may have complained about uncertainty around Trump tariffs, they might actually be working? This is not a huge win for him. He goes over there and essentially holds a home court at his own golf course meeting and in about an hour, cuts a deal that's sending $750 billion back to the United States and opening up the entire EU market to autos and everything else. I think this is one of his best achievements that we've seen so far. You couple this with the Japan deal that he just did. Joel and I have been on here for months saying, like, he's got to get some deals done. He's got to get this done. And he keeps talking about it and he's getting them done. And China's next probably, or India. This is the best of President Trump right now. He is on an absolute hot streak right now in terms of trade negotiations.

And Joel, what do you make of that. This is yet another agreement that the president has made with a bloc of nations as far as the EU. And this is the one area where Americans had the most faith in Mr. Trump to succeed. So what do you make of this moment? Yeah, you're right, he's only 5 points underwater on the economy as opposed to 10 or 15 or 20 points on every other issue. So you're right about that, this is his high water mark, only negative 5 points. Kevin is right, we have talked about Donald Trump needing to make deals. I don't know how much of a deal it is for the American people to pay a 15% tariff tax from Europe, when many of the tariffs out of Europe was less than 2% before this, before Donald Trump's ridiculous, nonsensical trade tariff war that he started with the rest of the world. He is not a popular president. He is not reigning over a popular policy. He may be able to go to his base and say, I got these wins, and he may have a media ecosystem that will trumpet those wins for him, but they don't feel like wins to everyday Americans. And also, forgive me as I wait for more information about the places where he sold out the American people, which we know is coming because it always comes like this. He makes a big announcement, and then we find out other places where he gave on a trade deal. So reserving the right to learn more information, but from the little bit that I hear, the American people won't come out winners here.

Let's jump to the topic of redistricting, because Democratic states have been picking up talks on that as Texas Republicans aim to redraw congressional maps as President Trump is guiding them to do. Let's just play this sound from Colorado's Democratic Governor, Jared Polis. I've always supported independent commissions. I think you're asking for trouble if you put politicians in charge of drawing their own districts. You get the ironic situation where politicians create their own electorate rather than the other way around, the people choosing the politicians. So I think the more you can take politics out of it, whether it's judges, whether it's independent redistricting commissions, that's a best practice. And I hope more states adopt. A little tough to hear there, but Kevin, what do you make of that. Is gerrymandering, as it's described, bad politics for either side? Both sides do this. Look, Republicans are going for it right now in a couple of red states. I think Democrats will respond and do the same thing. It remains to be seen how this shakes out. With reverse immigration going back the other way, I think you're going to see some numbers change. But yeah, this is high stakes politics right now because I don't know which, red or blue, pulls it out here with a better numbers game in the end because Texas will pick up some, California will pick up some. And it's a tit for tat.

Yeah, you wonder where this ends. Joel, as I bring you in on this topic, I want to mention a Wall Street Journalpoll shows favorability for Democrats is actually hitting a low that it hasn't seen in decades. So how can the party bounce back, is it by following redistricting strategies or something else? Well, on redistricting, I don't think Democrats should unilaterally disarm. If Republicans are going to do this, if they're going to abuse some of the states that they have bigger majorities in, in a place like Texas and go and squeeze out more congressional seats that they feel like are favorable out of the map, I think Democrats should do the same. I'm happy to hear Gavin Newsom talk openly about it. Happy to hear Kathy Hochul in New York talk openly about it. Jared Polis, respect what he's saying, but if Democrats unilaterally disarm, they will find themselves politically, completely being outclassed by Republicans. So they shouldn't take that off the table. In terms of Democratic Party favorability really quickly, here's what I'll just say. Democrats have to find trust and they have to find energy and authenticity. Republicans are collapsing upon themselves, OK? The Republican project is falling apart. Donald Trump's unpopular. They have an electorate that they seem to loathe. They have an electorate that they don't have an agenda that works for. And they have an electorate that is finding out that all the promises that they made were false. So Democrats have opportunity, but Democrats also have challenges because the public does not trust them as an opposition party in mass yet. And following the energy, following those folks who are bold, who are willing to challenge Democratic conventional wisdom, I think is the place where Democrats have to get to.

All right, Kevin, I know you disagree. You're nodding your head, but we're over time. We invite you back for more each and every week, and I appreciate you joining me this morning, Joel Payne and Kevin Sheridan.