President Donald Trump’s strongest public-facing success in his first year has been border security, while tariffs remain the administration’s biggest unresolved economic and political challenge, according to Chuck Todd, the former moderator of "Meet the Press" and host of "The Chuck ToddCast" on Newsmax Saturday.
“I think the biggest accomplishment as far as the public's concerned, when you think about those top issues of 2024, it's the border,” Todd said on Newsmax's "America Right Now," pointing to polling that shows voters give Trump the most credit on immigration enforcement and border stability.
He also cited movement toward easing conflict in the Middle East as a secondary accomplishment, though he described progress as uneven.
Trump’s personal style may be uniquely effective in the region, even if it has been less effective in Europe, he added.
Meanwhile, Todd said Trump’s most difficult task ahead is convincing voters that tariffs will ultimately improve the economy, particularly as concerns about affordability continue to dominate.
Affordability remains a powerful issue for voters and has helped buoy individual Democratic candidates, even as the Democratic Party’s overall favorability remains deeply negative, he noted.
"The success of individual Democratic candidates clearly is because they singularly have been focusing on the affordability issue, and you just simply can't wave a magic wand and fix the affordability problem," he said.
He added that many Americans have not yet felt the benefits of recent tax cuts, limiting their political impact.
Todd said Democrats’ broader struggles are tied to internal divisions that go beyond ideology.
While there is a familiar split between the left and the center, he said the more consequential divide is strategic.
"The more animating divide in the party is fight versus unite," Todd said. "Do you try to make a play for those independents for the center, or do you fight Trump harder?”
He said the Democratic base is increasingly rewarding confrontation, pointing to early 2028 polling that shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom gaining traction by aggressively targeting Trump.
"The Democratic base wants fight," Todd said, contrasting Newsom’s rise with figures such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, whom he described as less energizing because of their focus on bridging divides.
Todd said the direction Democrats take could hinge on the outcome of the midterm elections.
A strong showing could encourage a more moderate approach, while disappointment could fuel momentum for the party’s progressive wing, he said.
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