In the last months of an upcoming election campaign, Donald Trump’s thoughts are on weeds.
The president and some of his team, already obsessed with the possible drop-off of various demographic groups forming his abusive coalition, have openly feared that the drive to legalize or decentralize marijuana could hurt him and fellow Republicans at the ballot box.
According to two GOP strategists who have independently discussed the issue with Trump this year, the president believes that including marijuana initiatives on state ballots could give a turnout to voters leaning toward Democratic candidates and causes. The president asked, according to one of the sources, for updates on critical swing states that could see such voting measures in the 2020 elections.
“The president is well aware of how presidential elections are [nowadays]… can be won at the margins, ”said one of the Republican strategists. ‘The pot question is one of many he thinks is a danger … He once told me it would be very’ smart ‘for the Democrat[ic] Party to get as many of these on the ballot as they could. ‘
Decades ago, Trump publicly pleaded for full legalization, claiming that “we are losing the war on drugs badly,” and that “you must legalize drugs to win that war. You must take the profits away from these drug addicts.” . ”During this iteration of his political identity, he blamed politicians who” have no guts “to tackle drug legalization.
But through his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump was “strongly” opposed to legal weeds. By the time he reached the Oval Office, he was enthusiastically setting out to execute drug dealers by firing a shotgun. And his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, enlisted a lead in the Obama era that discouraged the feds from prosecuting criminal cases on marijuana in states where it was legal.
But behind the tough-on-drugs president’s approach appears to be an acknowledgment that politics is not on his side. At an event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Monday, Trump needed former Republican Gov. Scott Walker for the loss of a Democrat in 2018, suggesting that ballot paper companies in Wisconsin encouraged the rise in the state, in favor of the Democratic opponent. of Walker.
“Next time you run, please do not place marijuana at the same time as you run,” Trump told Walker, who was in the audience. “You brought out like a million people that no one knew they were coming out of now.”
Trump hinted at a bit of conventional political wisdom that the chance to vote for legalization for marijuana as decriminalization could encourage increased turnout among younger, more progressive voters. The data on that question is a mixed bag, although there is some evidence that it contributed to Walker’s defeat.
“Both parties are using voting initiatives to improve their turnout. George Bush did it [gay marriage] in 2004 … and we did it with flag-burning amendments over the years, “said former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), a Trump surrogate.” These kinds of measures can get hundreds [of voters] there, and that can sometimes be the difference in these races … If I were in a state law vote, I probably would not want a marijuana initiative there. I think it brings in more Democrats than Republicans. ”
If Trump’s theory is carried out in 2020, it could have significant consequences for him and other Republicans in tight races in November. Two of the four states where recreational cannabis legalization is likely to make the vote in November are Arizona and Montana. Both of those states are hosting critical U.S. Senate contests where Republican leaders have to contend with difficult re-election spirits.
In both states, Republicans are almost equally divided over whether marijuana should be legal, according to a Civiqs survey. Every other demographic group surveyed supports legalization, mostly by broad margins.
Arizona is of special interest to Trump. He led the state by a slim margin of 3.5 percent in 2016, and Democrats are putting pressure on the state with the hope of whipping it up for Joe Biden. At the Democratic Nominating Convention on Tuesday, Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Republican Senator John Arizona, had an recorded speech in Arizona listening to Biden, although she briefly stopped an approval.
Republicans in Trump’s job, like the party in general, are divided over the legalization issue. The president’s first attorney general, former Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, was a notorious drug lord and fierce legalizing opponent. But Trump has also relied on operatives such as Roger Stone, who has been an outspoken advocate for legalization for years, but who told The Daily Beast that he “did not have the opportunity to make this case personal” to Trump.
“I have written in interviews and said that the president, by hitting a pin, should take cannabis from the DEA Schedule 1 list,” Stone wrote. “Joe Biden must play his part in writing the law that requires the harsh mandatory fines for the first non-violent crime of possession of small amounts of drugs for persona; use that is responsible for the mass imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of African Americans. ”
While this is happening, one major advocate for legalizing marijuana in Arizona has some notable ties with the president himself. Elroy Sailor, a former Republican National Committee adviser to Trump’s transition team, sits on the board of Harvest Enterprises, a state-owned cannabis company that has provided the lion’s share of funding to a voting committee. pushing for the legalization measure. The commission, Smart and Safe Arizona, has also paid consulting fees to a company run by Sailor. He did not respond to questions about the measure.
If marijuana policy can boost Democrats’ hopes in November, the party has not shown much resentment at embracing the opportunity. Democratic delegates deviated from overwhelmingly proposed changes to the party platform last month, which would have called for full legalization of marijuana, instead of opting for more measured language in support of decriminalization.
A handful of Trump’s allies and confidants see room for opportunity and liberal liberals regarding marijuana measures, even if the incumbent president does not.
“[The president] discussed how marijuana affected turnout in the 2018 election figures, ‘said rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. “That was a different time … and before the DNC took a step back on marijuana policy this year.”
“Marijuana policy has more people in 2020 than 2018,” the congressman added, “[T]the political opportunity is there for either party in 2020 over marijuana policy. And there are a lot of marijuana voters … Hell [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], and I even co-sponsored legislation to democratize access to marijuana research. We get it. The establishment in both parties does not. ”
Asked if he had spoken directly with Trump about his belief that Pot could prove a political winner, Gaetz refused to give a readout of all presidential talks.
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