MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Will the president's message in Pennsylvania today help restore confidence among voters, as well as soothe the nerves of Republicans on Capitol Hill? Let's ask Ron Bonjean, a veteran spokesperson for Republicans in the Senate and the House. He's now with the communications firm ROKK Solutions. Good morning, Ron. Thanks for joining us once again.
RON BONJEAN: Good morning, Michel. Thank you very much.
MARTIN: So we're a little more than four months out from the midterms. The president traveling to a major swing state for this speech on the economy, as Franco just told us. Does this timing make sense to you?
BONJEAN: Absolutely. The timing makes complete sense. We're at a point where Trump needs to get on the road much more often. You know, Susie Wiles was talking about this a long time ago. He needs to be on the road on a weekly basis in these swing states, in these places that really matter and will matter for control of the House of Representatives, especially at a time where gas prices have been higher. They are coming down, which is helpful. And I think he'll probably talk about that.
MARTIN: Well, the question I think that Franco posed, I want to put to you, which is this, is he already too late? I mean, the president's been out and about. I mean, he's gone to major sporting events. And he's been seen in sort of a lot of places. But this is the first kind of really sort of domestically focused speech he's given in a while. So the question is, is he already too late?
BONJEAN: No, I don't think so. I mean, because we're four months out, he has to do this. I mean, it would be - if you think it's too late and he would - you know, and just throw up your hands, that would be political malpractice. He has to start talking about the economy early and often. Start talking about getting past the Iran war, if he can. I mean, that's the whole issue. The Iran war has been ups and downs. The agreement is there. It's not there. What we need to see is a consistent trend of prices coming down on all fronts. And that will make people feel a lot better about things come November.
MARTIN: You said back in April that gas prices needed to come down substantially by Memorial Day or it would be a political catastrophe waiting to happen. So as you just pointed out, gas prices are inching down. They're still a lot higher than a year ago. So is the president close to political catastrophe?
BONJEAN: Listen, gas prices are an election indicator of how Republicans are doing. The more the lower - the much more lower they can get, the better off their chances are. When you're talking about a couple of seats and control of the House of Representatives, there's a lot of pressure on Republicans to keep the House. And when you have gas prices high like this, people have memories, you know? The family of four that can't afford to go out to dinner Friday night, let's say, because they had to pay extra $50 in extra gas, that can be impactful. So having these gas prices go lower and lower each week would be significant to helping and just would go a long way.
MARTIN: Who do you think the president will be trying to speak to in his speech in Lehigh Valley today? And who do you think he's going to be talking to, and who would you advise him to be talking to? And I'm wondering if you think that - is he mainly focused on his base or disaffected Republicans at this point? Or can he broaden it out? Is he capable of broadening out?
BONJEAN: Well, because he's in Pennsylvania, he'll be talking, yes, partly to his base because they're going to be showing up to his rally. He's also going to have to be talking about independents. I mean, that's part of the focus there as well. I mean, he can talk about how the Senate just passed a bipartisan housing bill that will prevent Wall Street from scooping up homes and raising prices. That can help affordability.
He should be talking about these things and reaching out beyond his base, even though the base will be there. I'm sure he'll throw some red meat there, which is important to keep them energized. Of course, he needs their votes. But he's got to be talking to independents out there in these - you know, in swing states like Pennsylvania.
MARTIN: Think he's capable of doing so, though? I mean, it does seem, though, the president's always been very - you know, you can, you know, pick your adjective, depending on your point of view - very blunt if you think that he's plainspoken, or very crude and aggressive if you don't like what he has to say. And so it just seems to me that he's been in attack mode, even toward his own supporters in recent months. And I do wonder if you think that he's capable of broadening that message out and actually talking to independents.
BONJEAN: I think he's completely capable of it. And the key here is to stay focused on the themes that he needs to be driving home. The challenge that he could have is to get off topic and to drift into other things that may not matter to those voters. If he focuses too much on Iran and gets in too many particulars regarding it, because he's so focused on that, that can get lost. So he's got to stay very focused.
And it's not just one time here, you know, in Pennsylvania. I think Republicans really need to hear him, and independent voters need to hear him, speak almost on a weekly basis about the economy. And it shows that he's getting back to it, you know? And he'll have to do that to keep the message on point.
MARTIN: That is Republican strategist Ron Bonjean. Ron, thanks so much for joining us once again.
BONJEAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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