Trump Finds His Next 80/20 Issue

One of President Donald Trump’s greatest assets during his second term has been his ability to force Democrats onto the losing side of 80/20 issues. Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings calls it Trump’s “superpower.”

This split shows up on issue after issue. Should criminal illegal immigrants be deported? Should biological men be banned from competing in women's sports? Is crime a serious problem in America’s major cities? Should Congress extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts to protect all Americans from massive tax hikes?

In every case, the answer is an overwhelming “Yes!” from voters and a defiant “No!” from Democrats.

So far, the Democrat Party’s preferred response has been to double down on their unpopular positions, further tarnishing the party’s brand in the eyes of ordinary voters. But Trump’s latest 80/20 triumph has produced a very different reaction.

Instead of eagerly walking into the buzzsaw of public opinion, Democrats seem to have realized that some hills aren’t worth dying on.

The president shared a video last week on Truth Social that expressed support for a House bill that would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading or owning individual stocks.

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is using a procedural loophole to force a vote to ban stock trading for Congressmen and Senators this month.

According to one poll, 86 percent of Americans favor such a ban. Trump initially came out against it, blasting Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) over a similar Senate bill that would also apply to the president and VP, but the president has found his way onto the right side of yet another lopsided issue.

And now, in a surprise twist of fate, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has succumbed to political pressure and is now supporting the bill!

Delusional Pelosi Scrambles to Stay Relevant, Predicts Total Trump Implosion

Yes, as President Trump intimated, this is hard to believe because the family of the former House Speaker is one of the worst offenders when it comes to making lucrative stock trades that seem to be based on inside information.

To pick just one example from many, consider her husband’s well-timed sale of Visa stock, pocketing a cool $500,000. Shortly thereafter, the Biden Justice Department’s antitrust division announced a lawsuit against the company.

The whole lawsuit, which accused Visa of exercising a monopoly over the debit transaction market, was bogus. Visa has plenty of competitors and a market share of just 60 percent — nowhere close to a monopoly.

An investor who looked solely at the company’s actual behavior would never have predicted that a major antitrust case was in the works, and might be led to believe that the suit arose from folks intent on using the levers of Washington to make a few bucks.

The Pelosi family is so well known for these kinds of transactions that Hawley’s congressional stock trading ban was originally called the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act before being re-named for political reasons.

Democrats seem to have learned their lesson: It doesn’t pay to take the 20 side of every 80/20 issue. In one sense, this is a disappointment for Republicans. Making Democrats expose themselves as out-of-touch radicals provides great material for campaign ads and fundraising pitches.

When Democrats embrace the popular position, that PR advantage evaporates. But in its place, Republicans gain something far more substantial: a genuine, lasting victory. And isn’t that the point? Shaming your opponent for their insane beliefs is good. Convincing them to adopt sane beliefs is even better.

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