Clinton Boxed In On Trade

First Read: “Maybe the most remarkable part of Donald Trump’s anti-trade speech yesterday was the reaction from Republican-leaning big-business groups… There is no doubt that Trump is making a play for some Bernie Sanders supporters… But by doing so, he’s making a break with the modern Republican Party — Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush were all for free trade; so are most Republicans currently serving in Congress.

“Bottom line: Yesterday’s speech by Trump was something that no Republican presidential nominee in the last 60 years would have delivered.”

“But that doesn’t mean that Hillary Clinton can take advantage of that break (beyond the fundraising advantage). Indeed, she’s boxed in on trade — by Trump, by Sanders (who, it appears, continues make opposition to the TPP trade accord a condition for his ultimate endorsement), and by President Obama (who supports TPP and sees it as a final legacy achievement). And then there’s the standard operating procedure for Democratic presidents to oppose trade while on the campaign trail but back it when in the Oval Office, which Trump emphasized yesterday. ”

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