Trump targets 2020 Democrats as energy speech turns into campaign stop
John T. Bennett
President Donald Trump went to Louisiana to talk about his energy policies, but as frequently happens, an official White House event at times sounded a lot like a campaign stump speech.Trump used parts of his speech to describe a booming economy with low unemployment — weeks after acknowledging to reporters he intends to run on the state of the economy. Of course, Trump did not bring up his trade "squabble" with China, which Democratic lawmakers and economists warn could help spawn an economic slowdown just as he revs up his reelection bid.
The president won Louisiana by nearly 20 percentage points over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton (58.1 percent to 38.4 percent) in 2016. But that comfortable margin did not stop Trump from promising the citizens in the Hackberry area a little gift if they help him win a second term.
"If we win this election, which is only 16 months away, we're giving you a brand new I-10 bridge," he said to loud applause. "I didn't know it was going to be that popular," he quipped as the cheers died down.
"We're going to start planning and development," he said before barely hiding the ask. "And we'll have it all set to go on Day 1 after the election."