New poll on Trump's handling of the economy

So do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?

I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be. It could be. Or the same, or maybe a little bit higher. But it should be around the same. And here to discuss this, Hyma Moore and Kevin Sheridan. Hyma is a principal for Cornerstone Public Affairs and was the director for the Office of the DNC Chair. Kevin is a Republican strategist who formerly served as a spokesperson for the RNC and a senior advisor for the 2012 Romney-Ryan presidential campaign. Thank you both for joining us. Kevin, I've got to start with you. We've got to talk about this polling. It shows that the number of Americans who approve of President Trump's handling of inflation is at its lowest level since he returned to office. So how worried should the White House be about this?

Well, the White House is going to stick with this strategy as long as they need to to see this through. The bigger question is, how many Republicans will break off? Right now, it's not that many. In Congress, they are looking at a very scary midterm. But since 2024 and when he dragged the Republican Congress into the majority with his election, they've shown deference. And that's kind of still where they are. And obviously, everyone is concerned. Everyone wants to see lower gas prices. This is very scary for Republican prospects in the midterms. But they're willing to see it through, at least for a little while. I don't know how long that lasts, though.

Well, Hyma, let me ask you this. Are Democrats doing enough to prove to Americans that they've got a better approach to address the economy? Hey, Michael, good to see you. Look, that's been a lot of conversation. I was just down in New Orleans last week with the DNC as they had their spring meeting. I think that's been a big conversation for Democrats right now. It can't just be about opposing Donald Trump and opposing Republicans. It has to be about what do Democrats want to see for the future of this country, particularly the economy. And I think over the next few months, and you've seen even the last few months over the course of the primaries for the midterms, there are more Democrats that are having more direct conversations about the economy, which used to be a very strong suit for President Trump going into this last election. And so you're going to see that happen more and more and more. And as you get those governors out there, as you get those members who are running for reelection, you're going to have a bit more of an agenda conversation than just an opposition conversation. You know, Kevin, something else we saw in this polling, CBS News polling indicates that a growing number of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the war itself. How can the Trump administration turn this around?

Well, the facts on the ground are going to determine that. There's no messaging your way out of this, although some of the messaging has been very mixed on the reasons for doing it, why we did it when we did it. But ultimately, if the Strait gets opened in some way, if this blockade ends up loosening somehow, it's going to be short-term pain, obviously, which is what their message has been, but if it ultimately resolves itself in getting Iran to give up its nukes and give up its missiles and stop funding terror proxies, then I think these numbers will reverse. But right now, it's just facts on the ground. And it's in a very tentative state right now, and people are rightly worried. Now, Hyma, when we look at this poll, it shows that most Republicans believe the president does have a clear plan for this war. But most Democrats, and notably most independents, don't believe he's got a clear plan. So what should Democrats' message to Americans be right now?

Yeah, I think you're right. I think we're seeing that actually in a lot of elections across the country, as well, from Louisiana to Georgia to Wisconsin and states in between. What we're seeing is Democrats are building a new coalition that are bringing independents back into the fold. And so as they continue to articulate-- we see in May, in a couple of weeks, there are going to be a big swath of primary elections across the country. And so Democrats have got to say two things. One, when Donald Trump came into office a year ago, he said he would do two things-- no new wars, and he will lower your costs. We're in a big war right now that doesn't have an end to it that we can see, and your costs are continuing to go up. Even so, the president has said that he is not in charge of making sure that you can pay for childcare and things that you really need. And so Democrats have to focus in on what the president said he would do and what they will do to make things better. And it's a twofold message.

All right. We're going to have to leave the discussion there. Kevin Sheridan, Hyma Moore, thank you.