U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R. OH) has finally accepted that hid buddy, Governor John Kasich (R. OH), is not going to be the nominee and has accepted Donald Trump as his party’s nominee:
In a conference call with Ohio news reporters, Mr. Portman said that he has been supportive of Mr. Trump since Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out of contention for the GOP nomination last week.
“Republican voters have made their choice clear and I’m going to be supporting Mr. Trump,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s the time for us as Republicans to be split. We need to be unified and we need to ensure that we don’t see Hillary Clinton elected, who I think would be terrible for addressing the economic challenge that we face,” Mr. Portman said, bringing up his race against Democrat Ted Strickland in the U.S. Senate election in November.
He said Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Strickland both believe in “more taxes, more regulations, bigger government… and that America’s place in the world is leading from behind.”
Because of his high negatives, Mr. Trump is seen by many conservatives as likely to lose the election and hurt down-ticket candidates such as Mr. Portman in the process.
Mr. Portman portrayed himself as in sync with Mr. Trump on trade issues, citing Mr. Trump’s criticism of currency manipulation by China as a way to make Chinese products cheaper next to American products.
However, Mr. Portman is a longtime supporter of international free trade agreements, and a mainstay of Mr. Trump’s stump speech is criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the incompetence of American officials in negotiating international trade.
“I certainly don’t agree with starting a trade war,” which he said would happen if the U.S. implemented Mr. Trump’s threat to impose a tariff on products coming out of Mexico. ”I will certainly defend those trade agreements I voted for,” Mr. Portman said.
Emphasis Mine.
It should be noted that both Trump and Hillary Clinton oppose the TPP. Free trade has been a issue that keeps causing a problem for Portman. Lets not forget, he’s the Senator who took the most pro-TPP lobbyist money:
Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who is the former US trade representative, has been one of the loudest proponents of the TPP. He received $119,700 from 14 different corporations between January and March, most of which comes from donations from Goldman Sachs ($70,600), Pfizer ($15,700), and Procter & Gamble ($12,900). Portman is expected to run against former Ohio governor Ted Strickland in 2016 in one of the most politically competitive states in the country.
But when opposition to the TPP became loud and clear, Portman started to sing a different tune:
In a clear sign of the trouble facing President Obama’s trade pact with Pacific Rim nations, one of the most influential congressional Republicans on trade issues announced on Thursday that he would oppose it unless significant changes were made.
The lawmaker, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who was a trade ambassador under President George W. Bush, objects to the accord’s provisions on currency manipulation, auto parts and pharmaceutical industry protections. Lawmakers in both parties have raised the same issues, but Mr. Portman’s authority on trade is certain to carry extra weight with colleagues.
Democrats especially complain that the accord lacks enforcement measures against countries like Japan, Vietnam or Malaysia, for example, that are suspected of devaluing their currency to make their exports cheaper. The Ford Motor Company, which has plants in Ohio, also strongly opposes the trade agreement on this basis.
The separate objection of many Republicans, that the pact weakens patent protections for pharmaceutical companies to make drugs more affordable and accessible globally, has been led by Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah and chairman of the Senate committee responsible for trade, a longtime proponent of the drug industry.
Mr. Portman took his stand a day after the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership accord was formally signed by the countries’ trade ministers in Auckland, New Zealand, four months after they concluded years of negotiations.
And former Governor Ted Strickland (D. OH) has been making free trade a key campaign issue:
Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday denounced “unfair” U.S. trade deals that he said have cost American jobs and blamed his opponent, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, for voting in favor of eight trade deals.
“I don’t think there is a single issue that more clearly delineates a difference between Rob Portman and Ted Strickland than our positions on trade,” said Strickland, speaking in front of the mostly vacant lot that once housed a Delphi Corp. plant on West Third Street in Dayton.
“Rob Portman has never met a trade deal he didn’t embrace. I have consistently stood for American workers and American companies in resisting these unfair trade deals.”
Strickland, a Democrat seeking to unseat Portman, said he voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and opposes the current proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
Portman voted for NAFTA and last year voted to give President Barack Obama fast-track negotiating authority on TPP. Portman now says he can’t support TPP in its current form, which has yet to be voted on by Congress.
Portman is already walking a tight line when it comes to supporting Trump as the nominee but not exactly on his policies:
The senator also voiced caution about reducing the national debt by persuading creditors to accept less than full payment, as suggested Friday by Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.
Portman, who has endorsed Trump, said while he hasn't reviewed the details of Trump's proposal, the way to address the $19.2 trillion national debt "is not to take away from the full faith and credit that people believe they have when they buy treasuries."
He added, "I would be concerned about anything that would take away from that."
Portman's comments came after he accepted an endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business.
We can’t let Portman try and dupe voters again. Click here to donate and get involved with Strickland’s campaign.