Election Campaign Resumption Nears... "Trump Hit Twice in 24 Hours"

Bolton Revelations and Supreme Court Rulings Emerge as Obstacles Ahead of Oklahoma Tulsa Rally
WP: "Two Whistleblowing Incidents Within 24 Hours"
"Resuming the Rally Could Rekindle Fighting Spirit," Experts Predict

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Red lights are flashing one after another on U.S. President Donald Trump's path to re-election. Following the collapse of the economy, the greatest achievement, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, policies targeting conservatives are being blocked in various places. There is growing weight to the possibility that President Trump will take a more aggressive stance, using the resumption of his presidential campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the 20th (local time) as a stepping stone.

President Trump suffered two critical blows from the federal Supreme Court just this week. On the 15th, a ruling was made prohibiting discrimination against sexual minorities in the workplace, and on the 18th, a ruling blocked the repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a core part of his anti-immigration policy. The decision was 5 to 4. The Supreme Court is composed of five conservatives and four progressives, so conservatives hold the majority, but Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the progressives.

This is widely regarded as a very painful ruling for President Trump. The conservative Supreme Court, which Trump worked hard to shape, handed down two progressive rulings within five days, and the DACA program was created during the Obama administration, when his presidential rival, Democratic candidate Joe Biden, served as vice president. The Washington Post (WP) commented, "It left no room for the president."

Former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor John Bolton's upcoming book also cornered President Trump. Bolton introduced Trump's conversation at the Singapore North Korea-U.S. summit, delivering a direct blow by saying, "He was obsessed only with re-election and focused on personal gain over national interest." WP reported that within less than 24 hours of the Supreme Court ruling, Trump was hit by two internal whistleblowing incidents that broke the bounds of the law.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Trump's approval ratings have recently been declining further. Nate Silver, a statistician highly regarded in U.S. election forecasts, reported on the 18th that in the national average support, Biden led with 50.5% compared to Trump's 41.3%. Public Broadcasting Service NPR analyzed the U.S. election situation on the 17th and concluded that if the election were held under current circumstances, Biden would secure about 238 electoral votes, ahead of Trump's 186. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the U.S. presidential election. NPR assessed that Trump has fallen into a political hole and must secure a broader support base to win re-election.

The unstable appearance of Trump's approval ratings became pronounced alongside the COVID-19 crisis and the death of Black man George Floyd on the 25th of last month. Especially, soldiers, who were among Trump's largest support bases in the last election, turned their backs en masse after Trump warned of deploying the military during large-scale protests earlier this month. The New York Times (NYT) reported veterans' reactions, saying, "He politicized armed soldiers and threatened the Constitution," and mentioned that "the last straw has been crossed."

President Trump plans to use the Tulsa rally as an opportunity to change the atmosphere. When criticism arose that the originally scheduled rally date on the 19th was related to a Black massacre, he immediately postponed it by one day to the 20th, showing attention to setting the mood.

There are also expectations that he will fight more aggressively to rally his support base. The NYT quoted a Trump campaign official saying, "He hates looking like a loser, so his fighting spirit will be revived in the fall."

This attitude was already evident after the Supreme Court ruling. Trump announced on Twitter, "We need a new Supreme Court justice," and said he would reveal a list of potential nominees by September 1. After the economic shutdown measures due to COVID-19, Trump targeted China, and now he seems to have identified the Supreme Court, which handed down unfavorable rulings consecutively, as a key point in the election campaign. He added, "If the radical left Democrats take power, among many other things, your Second Amendment rights, right to life, border security, and religious freedom will be finished and gone." The Second Amendment recognizes the individual's right to bear arms, and the Democratic Party has shown moves to restrict it.

The Hill, a congressional media outlet, mentioned that Trump also used the courts as a central issue to attract conservatives in the last election. It is understood that he intends to bring court issues into the election campaign.

Local media also predict that President Trump is likely to focus more on securing his core support base rather than listening to his aides' advice, saying, "I have to be myself."

Former Vice President Biden appears to be taking the Supreme Court ruling as a positive development. Biden retweeted former President Obama's tweet urging people to vote for Biden for the 'Dreamers' who benefited from DACA, saying, "Thank you, Obama. We must not stop until all Dreamers are safe in this country." In another tweet, he attacked President Trump, saying, "If I am elected president, I will send a bill to Congress granting citizenship to Dreamers and 11 million undocumented immigrants." On the same day, Biden also started presidential ads in key battleground states criticizing President Trump, seemingly targeting Trump's campaign resumption.

There is also growing interest in the possibility of the presidential candidates meeting in one place. According to Fox News and others, the Trump campaign is exploring expanding one-on-one debates between Trump and Biden. The campaign reportedly asked former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for help in this regard. This suggests an intention to leverage Trump's strength in live TV broadcasts. On the other hand, the Biden campaign has clearly expressed its refusal to expand the debates.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.