Trump and Musk ‘Perceive the Client,’ Sen. Ruben Gallego Says

• Ruben Gallego mentioned the 2024 election proved Trump and Musk’s understanding of working-class voters.
• “They really perceive the patron,” the senator instructed The New York Instances.
• Gallego gained his Senate seat on the identical poll the place Trump flipped Arizona again into the GOP column.

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have discovered a method to join with working-class voters as a result of they’re “engaged day-after-day” with them, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona mentioned in a current New York Instances interview.

“They really perceive the patron,” Gallego mentioned. “They’re engaged day-after-day, someway, in making an attempt to speak to the patron, and on this case it is the voter.”

Gallego mentioned the 2024 common election outcomes “proved” the energy of Trump’s enchantment with the working-class voters Democrats have additionally sought to win over.

When Gallego was requested why many citizens involved concerning the economic system seemingly had little problem with an administration stuffed with the ultrawealthy, the Arizona lawmaker mentioned private wealth is aspirational for a lot of voters.

“Individuals which are working class, poor, do not essentially take a look at the ultrarich as their opponents,” he mentioned. “They need to be wealthy sometime.”

He mentioned these voters would give Trump, Musk, and their allies the good thing about the doubt till they have been personally impacted by governmental actions.

Gallego additionally predicted that Trump would face political backlash over the GOP’s long-sought tax invoice, which might embrace $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and potential spending reductions for applications like Medicaid and the Supplemental Diet Help Program.

“That is when you are going to see individuals saying, ‘No, no, no, that is not what I would like,'” he mentioned.

Gallego has solely been within the Senate for a number of weeks, however he is no stranger to Washington. He served within the Home for a decade, representing a Democratic-heavy district anchored in Phoenix.

When Gallego jumped into his state’s Senate race, it was unclear whether or not then-Impartial Sen. Kyrsten Sinema would additionally run. This had the potential to create a three-way race, which might have made it simpler for the GOP to win the seat. Nonetheless, Sinema finally declined a reelection bid, and Gallego confronted Republican Kari Lake, a staunch Trump political ally.

Gallego defeated Lake final November at the same time as Trump flipped Arizona crimson in his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the important thing swing state.

The primary Latino to symbolize Arizona within the Senate, Gallego outpaced Harris with Latino voters and male voters. The lawmaker attributed his success to his work to have interaction with voters all over the place, particularly because it associated to their financial considerations.