President Trump's political momentum faces a major test this week as Democrats try to turn various Downballot races into a White House referendum, with Trump's long-standing tariffs rattling allies and consumers at the same time.
The state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin on Tuesday is seen as an indicator of support for Trump, especially after Elon Musk and the group funds spent more than $20 million to strengthen Trump's priority candidates. White House officials are also increasingly interested in Tuesday's unusually competitive race as Florida's deep red house seats are vacant after Representative Michael Waltz resigned to serve as Trump's national security adviser.
The White House hopes that victory in these races will strengthen Trump's grip against the Republicans as his team seeks to overcome backlash from careless sharing of military plans on commercial apps with journalists.
The Florida election is important for Republicans who hold a narrow majority in the House when they seek to pass the presidential agenda. The Wisconsin race results on the battlefield that Trump significantly won last year may reflect the president's voters' views on the destruction of the federal workforce, his crackdown on illegal immigration, and his move towards diversity, equity and inclusive initiatives.
“It's a big race,” Trump said Monday about the Wisconsin judicial contest. “Wisconsin is a big political state and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with the election in Wisconsin.”
Trump is also expected to reveal details of his mutual tariff plans on Wednesday. He named it “The Day of Liberation,” saying that the nation would ultimately be freed from past trade relations that he claimed to have deceived the United States. However, investors are more concerned that tariffs can promote inflation and slow consumer spending, which could drive economic unrest among voters.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt dispelled these concerns on Monday.
“The President is unveiling a tariff plan that will roll back unfair trade practices that have torn our nation over decades,” Leavitt said. “He's doing this for the best interests of American workers. The President has always said that the stock market has been a snapshot for a while and he's doing his best on Main Street. Wall Street is going well.”
Trump also said he was not worried about the possibility of rising consumer prices. Despite the confidence forecast by the White House, the S&P 500 ended March and saw its sharpest monthly decline in more than two years due to uncertainty over the president's tariff coverage. Investors will also focus on the scheduled release of their monthly report on US Job Market Health on Friday.
“This country will be more successful than ever,” Trump said on Sunday. “It's going to be a boom. You'll have a US Boomtown.”
Trump also hopes his administration can reach a deal to run Tiktok in the US. The app, which raised concerns that ownership by Chinese companies could use it to access sensitive user data, should be sold by Saturday or face a ban under laws passed last year. Trump extended the sales deadline in January and on Monday showed that he could do so again if the agreement has not been reached, despite it being unclear that he has the authority to override the timetable set by law.
Trump has also suggested that tariffs in China may be eased in exchange for support for the country's deal. He acknowledges that it may be important to keep Tiktok accessible to build support among younger voters.
“I want to see Tiktok live on,” Trump told reporters in Air Force 1 on Sunday. “Republicans generally don't do much with younger crowds. I think a lot of that might have been Tiktok.”
“Titktok is very interesting and a lot of people want to buy it,” he added. “We have a deal with Tiktok.”
