North Korea summit could boost Republicans midterm chances

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Could President Donald Trump’s historic meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un help Republicans rally more voters at the polls in the fall?

While the White House is touting it as a big win for the president, many in the Republican National Committee believe it could lead to big wins for GOP candidates in November.

RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel said yesterday the president should be championed for his work while also taking a swipe at Democrats who are critical of Trump.

The president announced Tuesday, Kim Jong-Un committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

“As history has proven over and over again, advisories can indeed become friends,” said President Trump.

“The implications are going to depend on what those details are and there were so few details in the initial agreement that it’s impossible to know,” said Rick Klein, ABC News political director.

It’s a campaign promise, the president made during a rally in Elkhart last month.

“I’ll be meeting with Kim Jong-un to pursue a future of peace and security for the whole world,” he said during the rally.

Now that the meeting has happened, what will this kept promise mean for Republicans in the 2018 midterms?

“If you can point to a strong and growing economy, tax cuts that are working to deliver more dollars to actual families and jobs and on top of that a more peaceful and secure world, then you start to have an argument to push back against the incredible argument that’s being unleashed,” said Rick Klein.

Senator Joe Donnelly, the Democratic incumbent who the president was in town last month to rally against, lauded the Trump’s progress with North Korea but he also expressed a few reservations.

“I am also concerned about the president’s announcement that he plans to stop joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, as these efforts are central to assuring the security of our allies in the region, and I will be actively seeking details on this front,” said Donnelly in a statement to ABC 57 News.

Indiana Republican chair Kyle Hupfer called out Donnelly for a speech on the senate floor in 2017, criticizing the president’s administration for lacking a strategy on North Korea.

But Donnelly’s camp pointed to his involvement in helping shape sanctions against country last year while part of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces in the U.S. Senate.

Donnelly’s midterm opponent, Republican nominee Mike Braun congratulated the president following Tuesday’s summit as well.

He said in part in a statement he believes this will result in a path towards a safer Pacific region and a safer United States.