Mark Halperin, Sean Spicer, ex-Dem strategist say Democrats whiffed on potential attack line against Trump

Political analyst Mark Halperin, former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine, and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Democrats are missing out on the opportunity to attack President Donald Trump over his comments about children’s dolls and tariffs.

Trump first said during a Wednesday cabinet meeting that children may end up with just two dolls rather than 30, and that the two may cost more than usual because of his tariffs on China; he subsequently doubled down on his comments multiple times. Halperin, Turrentine, and Spicer said on “The Morning Meeting” that Democrats are failing to capitalize on what they considered poor political rhetoric by the president.

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“I think Democrats are in a bind, and that’s why you’re not seeing the pushback. It’s the media that’s doing the pushback, not the Democrats in an effective way,” Spicer said.

“[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer shouldn’t be doing an event with small business owners,” Halperin responded. “He should be doing an event with a little girl with 10 dolls.”

Turrentine suggested that if a Democrat had made a similar comment, Trump would have turned it into a viral moment and dominated the narrative.

“It’s unbelievable how ineffective the Democrats are at messaging right now. The idea that they have the wrong person doing the wrong thing speaks volumes about the leadership that they have,” Spicer responded. “This should be an easy layup of a press conference or a press event that they’re just flailing at. And I guarantee you, by like Friday after we’ve talked about this, they’ll put something out — five days too late.”

Several recent polls have shown that many Americans are dissatisfied with Trump’s management of the economy. For instance, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released April 23 found that only 37% of respondents approved of the president’s handling of the economy.

Halperin said he agreed entirely, noting he had not heard any Democrats publicly criticize Trump’s remarks, despite how “crazy” they were.

America presently imposes a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. China’s economy slipped from growth to contraction after the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell below 50 in April, The Wall Street Journal reported.

New export orders from China sank to their lowest level since December 2022, when the country was still under a COVID-19 lockdown, according to figures reviewed by the WSJ.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted Wednesday on “Hannity” that 17 trading partners have endeavored to negotiate deals with the Trump administration since the president levied tariffs on the world.

China has also been reaching out to other countries to craft trade deals amid Trump’s efforts to isolate the nation by doling out massive tariffs, thus far making inroads with Vietnam, Malaysia, and Europe. Moreover, China, Japan, South Korea, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released a Sunday statement opposing “escalating trade protectionism.”

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