Could Trump Pull a ‘Cannabis Surprise’ in 2020? It’s Not Impossible
“Trump will do anything to get re-elected. If he senses a couple percentage points in a legalization pivot, he just might jump on it.”
Trump Hates Cannabis, but…
Trump personally loathes legalization and all things cannabis. (And, we found out this week, vaping.) His worldview formed in the 1970s and 1980s, when cannabis remained entwined with hippies and the counterculture—dirty, disgusting people in the mind of a man who aspired to a life of limousines and gilded toilets. Trump also considers rural county sheriff’s, last of the drug war holdouts, to be a core part of his base.
At the same time, Trump is a man who will do anything to get re-elected. If he senses a couple of percentage points in a legalization pivot, he just might jump on it. Such a move won’t sway any Democrats. But it might give younger undecideds a reason to vote against Biden.
During his first two post-election years, Trump served as a kind of legalization Rorschach test. Skeptics shook their heads at his appointment of Jeff Sessions and the revocation of the Cole memo. Supporters pointed to his defence of states’ rights and comments ostensibly in support of medical cannabis. Which is to say: Trump doesn’t necessarily need to do anything. It might be enough for him simply to posture as though he’s considering it.
Source: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/could-trump-pull-a-cannabis-surprise-in-2020-its-not-impossible
