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Trump launching re-election campaign in Florida

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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday formally launches what may be an uphill battle to persuade voters to give him four more years in office, as he bets a strong US economy will outweigh voter concerns about his unorthodox style and polarising policies.


At an evening rally in Orlando, Florida, Trump, who has long made it known he is running for re-election, will begin making his case with gusto for a second term.


The Trump of 2020 most certainly will bear a strong resemblance to the Trump of 2016 — brash and eager to bash opponents and promote tough policies on trade and immigration.


Two-and-a-half years into his tenure, Trump sees plenty of positive factors, led by a growing economy with low unemployment.


“If the economy stays strong, he is very likely to get re-elected,” said Trump confidant Newt Gingrich, a former Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives.


But the aftermath of an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, coupled with a presidential style marked by name-calling and eye-popping tweets, has undermined some Americans’ confidence in Trump ahead of the November 2020 election.


He also has stirred division with his hardline policies on immigration and unsettled business and farm groups with his use of tariffs in trade disputes with China and some allies.


Democrats cite a string of broken promises in Trump’s first term, from lowering drug prices to closing corporate tax loopholes and stopping plant closures. In a media call on Tuesday, Democratic Party officials focused on his moves to weaken the signature healthcare law of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, without providing an alternative.


“The thing that is working to our advantage is that this president now has a record to run on,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez.


POLLING CONCERNS


A Reuters/Ipsos poll on June 11 gave Trump a 40 per cent job approval rating, compared with 57 per cent who disapproved. Other opinion polls have shown him running consistently behind his main Democratic challengers, such as former vice president Joe Biden, in key battleground states.


Republican strategists say the fundamentals favour Trump as he heads into his election but that he faces challenges given his bare-knuckled approach, which he refuses to temper.


“His support with his base is as strong as it’s ever been for any Republican incumbent president. The challenge is adding to that and building the coalition he needs for re-election,” said Republican strategist Ryan Williams, a former adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney.


FLORIDA IS A KEY


Democrats vow to win back industrial states like Pennsylvania and Michigan that flipped to Trump in 2016 after decades of voting Democratic in presidential elections, and they believe his behaviour and policies will generate strong turnout among Americans eager to turn him out of office. — Reuters


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