Over 23 million tuned in live to last night's Elon Musk-Donald Trump conversation on X Spaces. Their conversation has now been heard by 73 million people. Reminiscent of Roosevelt's radio broadcast 'fireside chats' the conversation could spell a future in which important figures again address Americans directly.
The automotive and aerospace industrialist and the former president discussed the assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in July, the impact of illegal immigration, energy policy, and the national deficit.
Listen to the full conversation here:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024
Including a nod to the toxic burn in the East Palestine derailment, Trump and Musk dedicated significant air time to energy policy, including nuclear energy and fracking. Fracking is an important energy source in Ohio, and a driver of both industrial and manufacturing jobs and affordable energy.
Exclusive — Trump Crushes Kamala Harris with List of Flip-Flops: Fracking, Border, Defunding Police, More https://t.co/dyAZojuQWQ
— John Wohler (@WohlerJohn) August 13, 2024
Strikingly, the paid zeroed in on reducing government spending in the face of taming America's runaway inflation. Inflation is perhaps Americans' most feared economic bogeyman. Years of high inflation have crippled housing affordability and driven up the price of essential goods and services, while wages have stagnated. Trump noted the importance of cheap energy in reducing costs, not just at the gas pump, but in the manufacturing sector, as well.
Inflation, and by extension energy policy, and their bearing on the economy are liable to drive sentiment heading to the November general election. As fears of recession and unemployment trend upward, these are the Ohio counties facing the highest unemployment.
Ohio has the eighth worst economy in the country, and Ohioans are sure to have the economy top-of-mind come November. Trump, however, who is narrowly favored to carry the electoral college, will need Congress on his side to enact his stripped-down MAGA agenda focusing on trade, immigration, and limiting foreign wars. Democrats narrowly control the U.S. Senate, and Ohio is a linchpin for democrats, with Sen. Sherrod Brown currently upholding the Biden-Harris agenda.
The incumbent Brown currently leads Republican opponent Bernie Moreno, but with Trump expected to carry Ohio by a wide margin, could Brown and the Biden-Harris agenda be in jeopardy? Ohioans' choice in down-ballot contests matching their likely choice for president could shape the Senate.
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