WASHINGTON (WKYC) — To most observers, the 2020 election between incumbent President Donald Trump and whoever the Democratic nominee will be seems to (for the moment) be a tossup.
However, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan doesn't see it that way.
"He is going to get a second term," the Ohio congressman said Thursday during at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. "He’s going to win. There’s a good chance that the president wins big, and if he wins big, we can take back the House. I do think that’s going to happen."
Jordan took part in a CPA panel discussion with fellow Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp. The theme of this year's conference is "America vs. Socialism," seemingly a swipe at U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
When discussing his reasons why he felt the president would earn a second term, Jordan cited a strong economy, the renegotiation of a trade deal with Canada and Mexico, and the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. He also commended Trump for accomplishing these things "despite of this relentless attack from the Democrats and the mainstream press."
"They're never going to stop," Jordan said of congressional Democrats, specifically alluding to the president's impeachment by the House of Representatives (although he was eventually acquitted by the GOP-controlled Senate). "They tried to overturn the will of 63 million Americans, all of us who voted for President Trump."
The at times polarizing Jordan, whose district represents portions of Erie, Huron, and Lorain Counties, has been one of Trump's biggest defenders on Capitol Hill. He will soon be made ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, giving him key access to any possible investigations into the White House.
Despite Jordan's bold predictions, FiveThirtyEight currently has the president's approval rating at just 43%, and Republicans are coming off a 2018 midterm election that saw them lose 39 seats along control of the chamber for the first time in eight years. Still, the Democrats have yet to find a consensus candidate to go against Trump in November, and Jordan sees an opening to convince voters that the rival party is going too far to the left.
'[America] is the greatest place ever," he said. "As Republicans and conservatives, we've got to talk about that, and [how] that all happened because of the freedom and the rights we enjoy in this great country. The president does it every single rally he speaks at...how the American people, regular people, can do great things."
Although the president and the GOP have both touted the economy, including unemployment below 4% and median income at record-highs, Democrats have argued that upward trend actually began under predecessor Barack Obama, and that millions of Americans still aren't feeling the positive effects. The stock market has also taken a tumble in recent days, with investors worried about the possible spread of the novel coronavirus.
