Chuck Schumer’s hand-picked Tennessee Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen went after President Donald Trump’s tariffs in a new television ad, “saying they hurt the state’s auto industry, farmers and exports like Jack Daniel’s whiskey,” according to this report.
This may be the first time Bredesen has taken on Trump openly and in his own voice.
Marsha Blackburn and the Republicans wasted no time in hitting back, pointing out that, no matter what Bredesen says in one ad, it’s inevitable that he becomes Schumer’s man in the Senate in the end. Schumer recruited him to run and helped him secure the backing of huge liberal donors, who will expect to see Bredesen deliver for the money they are spending attempting to elect him.
There’s more here:
Blackburn has said she’s “not a fan” of tariffs, high taxes or trade wars, but that she wants to find a way to “deal with this imbalance that we have when it comes to trade and our exports and imports.”
The new Bredesen ad drew a quick response from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which pointed to Bredesen’s opposition of Trump’s tax cuts last year.
“Phil Bredesen’s vehement opposition to the tax cuts contradicts his phony claim that he’d do anything other than resist President Trump and his agenda in Congress,”NRSC Spokesman Michael McAdams said in a statement. “Tennessee voters deserve better than someone who will be a total tool for Chuck Schumer and out-of-touch Washington Democrats.”
Additionally, the recent retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has injected another critical issue into the race, the composition of the Supreme Court quite likely for many years to come.
Bredesen, known as a moderate Democrat, has repeatedly said he’s not running against Trump in his campaign. He’s rarely attacked the president, and has downplayed the national significance of the race, which could swing control of the U.S. Senate. Last month Bredesen declined to fire back when Trump called Bredesen a “tool” for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during a rally in Nashville.
