US Politics

[VCheng]

No idea Nikki still wants to 'fight' on.

Biden may be counting on Trump being the Republican nominee since he is likely to do much worse against a younger one by comparison.

 

[Waz]

Biden may be counting on Trump being the Republican nominee since he is likely to do much worse against a younger one by comparison.

That's a point, but just looking at Biden speak, walk, just move it doesn't look good at all.

 

[VCheng]

That's a point, but just looking at Biden speak, walk, just move it doesn't look good at all.

Sleepy vs Sleazy. That is about all I can say. Not much of a choice.

 

[Waz]

Sleepy vs Sleazy. That is about all I can say. Not much of a choice.

I'll add sleazy to Joe as well, and his son lol
Trump just seems more alert, and he's funny as hell.
The world is going to tune in on this one.

 

[VCheng]

I'll add sleazy to Joe as well, and his son lol
Trump just seems more alert, and he's funny as hell.
The world is going to tune in on this one.

Oh the world is coming along for the ride wherever USA goes, and there is no one in the driving seat. It is going to be an exciting year for sure.

 

[The SC]

Trump wins New Hampshire primary​

 

[The SC]

BREAKING NEWS: Trump Delivers Victory Address After Winning Republican New Hampshire Primary​

 

[The SC]

Trump just won another primary state — and here’s what we have to say about it​

 

[Yommie]

Biden's Third-Year Job Approval Average of 39.8% Second Worst

Biden averaged 39.8% job approval during his third year in office, the second-lowest third-year average for recent presidents.

news.gallup.com

Biden's Third-Year Job Approval Average of 39.8% Second Worst​

​

BY JEFFREY M. JONES

STORY HIGHLIGHTS​

• Only Jimmy Carter had a lower third-year average
• Current job approval rating for Biden is 41%
• 78-point Democratic-Republican gap in Year 3 ties for fifth largest

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During President Joe Biden’s third full year in office, spanning Jan. 20, 2023, to Jan. 19, 2024, an average of 39.8% of Americans approved of his job performance. Among prior presidents in the Gallup polling era who were elected to their first term, only Jimmy Carter fared worse in his third year. Carter averaged 37.4% approval in a year in which gas prices soared, inflation reached double digits and Iranian militants took U.S. citizens hostage.
Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon also had sub-50% third-year averages. Dwight Eisenhower’s 72.1% is the highest for a third-year president.

Biden’s third-year average was lower than both his first-year (48.9%) and second-year (41.0%) averages. Though better than his third-year average, his first- and second-year ratings also ranked as the second lowest for recent presidents, ahead of only Trump in both years.
Biden registered new personal lows of 37% job approval in April, October and November 2023 surveys.
Gallup’s latest job approval rating for Biden, from a Jan. 2-22 survey, is 41%, while 54% disapprove of how he is performing his job. Since September 2021, after the troubled withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Biden’s approval rating has ranged from the high 30s to low 40s. Before that, during the first six months of his presidency, he enjoyed majority-level approval ratings.

The new Gallup poll finds 83% of Democrats, 35% of independents and 6% of Republicans approving of the job Biden is doing, consistent with his recent job approval ratings by party.

About Half of Recent Presidents Saw Improved Ratings in Fourth Year​

A key question for Biden, as he seeks reelection, is whether his job approval rating can be expected to improve this year. The historical evidence is mixed, based on a comparison of elected presidents’ third- and fourth-year job approval averages.

• Four presidents -- Nixon (+7 percentage points), Reagan (+11 points), Clinton (+8 points) and Obama (+4 points) -- saw meaningful improvement in their fourth year, and all four won reelection.
• Three presidents saw no significant change -- including the extremely popular Eisenhower, who won reelection, but also Carter and Trump, who were defeated for a second term.
• Two presidents -- George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush -- saw their approval ratings nosedive in their fourth year. The elder Bush lost his reelection bid after a 28-point drop, while the younger Bush, whose rating declined nine points, won.

The data indicate that presidents who successfully won reelection were close to -- or exceeded -- 50% approval during their fourth year in office.

Biden’s Ratings Continue to Be Among the Most Polarized​

During Biden’s third year in office, an average of 83% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans approved of the job he was doing, a 78-point party gap. Among third-year presidents, only Trump had greater party splits in his job approval ratings, averaging 82 points.

The increase in party polarization of presidential job approval ratings is underscored by the average 37-point partisan gap for presidents through the elder Bush, compared with 69 points for presidents in the past 30 years. This change has largely been fueled by increasingly lower job approval ratings from supporters of the opposition party, which now typically register in the single digits but were closer to 30% in the past.
Biden’s third-year party figures duplicate those from his second year in office and tie as the fifth most polarized annual average for any president. Trump’s fourth year, covering most of 2020 and early 2021, holds the record for the biggest average party gap in job approval ratings. That year, 91% of Republicans and 6% of Democrats approved of the job he was doing.
Together, Biden and Trump, the likely opponents in this year’s presidential election, account for the six most polarized presidential years. Trump’s first year, when fewer Republicans approved of him than did so later in his term, ranks 10th.

Bottom Line​

Biden begins his reelection campaign with a job approval rating significantly below the 50% mark that has been associated with winning a second term. And while some presidents have seen sharp improvements in their fourth year and won a second term, Biden’s third-year rating was worse than any of theirs, suggesting he has a bigger hill to climb.
The president may see some modest gains in approval if the Democrats who disapprove of him come back into the fold. That pattern typically occurs in a presidential election year -- among prior presidents, all but the two Bushes saw higher ratings from their party’s supporters in their third than fourth year in office.
However, the key to Biden’s winning reelection may lie more in convincing a larger share of independents that he is doing a good job and is deserving of a second term. His approval rating among independents has mostly been below 40% since the fall of 2021 but was above 50% during the honeymoon phase of his presidency.

 

[Yommie]

Border Security And Aid To Ukraine Deal Derailed By Trump Intervention

American world leadership at stake in the Congressional discussions regarding border security and Ukrainian aid. Trump wants to halt talks to campaign on immigration.

www.forbes.com

Border Security And Aid To Ukraine Deal Derailed By Trump Intervention​

Andy J. Semotiuk


Jan 26, 2024,09:00am EST

Main leaders in Congress House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), U.S. Senate Minority Leader ...

Former President Donald Trump has signalled he wants any immigration and border security deal tanked so that he can campaign on immigration in the upcoming Presidential elections. Intensive negotiations in the Senate and with the House over President Biden’s proposed $ 109 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in exchange for unprecedented concessions in decades from Democrats to secure the U.S. southern border have stalled in Congress as a result. In a Senate Republican meeting on Ukraine, McConnell said that time and the political will to pass a bipartisan immigration and border security compromise may have actually run out already. McConnell indicated that there is no longer the desire to find a bipartisan solution to the immigration crisis and Ukraine’s aid package because the “Politics on this have changed,” since former President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants to run his 2024 campaign focusing on immigration. “We don’t want to do anything to undermine him,” McConnell said of Trump. McConnell wants to win the Senate back this November, and he believes that can’t happen without Trump’s support if he’s the GOP nominee.

Two Singular Leadership Opportunities Being Missed​

It appears that Congress is about to miss two singular opportunities to make history and strengthen America internally and internationally for the sake of handing Donald Trump the opportunity to make immigration his focus in the upcoming Presidential election.

Border Deal Discussions​

After months of in depth bipartisan negotiations to address what many regard as one of the most difficult domestic issues that has plagued Congress for decades, a deal appeared to be within reach. The discussions touched not only on border security, but the other important immigration questions that have been awaiting resolution, such as the Dreamers, H1B visa reform, temporary work issues including agricultural workers, asylum claims, the use of humanitarian parole, and a path to citizenship for long-term undocumented immigrants. As the New York TimesNYT -0.1% put it, “For months, Senate Republicans have been working with Democrats on a deal they have described as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a conservative border security bill, and for weeks, they have hinted that they are tantalizingly close to an agreement.” But then former President Donald Trump intervened causing Republican support to recede because he indicated that he wanted to campaign on the immigration question in the next Presidential election.

Aid To Ukraine​

On the international front, Trump’s intervention also scuttled a deal to provide American allies, especially Ukraine the financial aid it needs to repel the invasion of Russia, but also financial aid for Israel and Taiwan. Trump claims he can end the war in Ukraine in one day — a promise that has sparked concern from Ukrainian leaders. They fear that Trump’s simplistic plan would involve the U.S. attempting to cede Ukrainian land to Russia. While he was President, many observers have forgotten that there was an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine on the eastern front. Despite his claimed friendship with Putin he was unable to resolve it. If he could not resolve it then, how can he claim to be able to resolve the war now?

Historic Parallel​

Anyone familiar with European history can see that today’s political situation eerily parallels the events that led up to the outbreak of World War II. Putin’s invasion of Crimea and later occupation of the Donbas, and his current invasion of Ukraine parallels Hitler’s invasion of Austria and military invasion of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia before his declaration of war on Poland. But today’s situation in Europe is far graver than at the outset of World War II because of the existence of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Arms Involved This Time​

The proposed budgetary allocation of $ 60 billion for Ukraine has been stalled by linking it to immigration and the lack of agreement on defending the southern border. This is a very significant matter in the international arena. It is not a question of giving Ukraine a gracious gift but a question of America living up to its commitment in the Budapest Accord. In that accord America made a promise to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal, then the third largest in the world, to Russia. If America fails to keep its promise American allied countries in NATO, and others such as Taiwan, and South Korea, would seriously question whether America can be relied on as an ally when it counts. Ever! Indeed, as EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, in an interview with The Guardian, put it, “The European Union’s existence is at stake in Ukraine.” He added, “Putin is not determined to stop full-scale aggression anytime soon, and the danger emanating from “a great power [Russia]
” threatens European democracy.” Indeed, the German tabloid
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Bildrecently reported that European intelligence sources suggest that Russia may launch an attack on Europe during the winter of 2024-2025 should Trump win the election. Is this what America is willing to accept in international affairs? And what about nuclear safety in the future?

American World Leadership At Stake​

Democratic and GOP lawmakers and leadership aides believe that there’s still majority support for more Ukraine money among lawmakers. But the problem is how does Congress pass it. Trump has called Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP senators repeatedly to pressure them to oppose the bipartisan bill. Right-wing media have also slammed it on Trump’s behalf. Johnson continues to call on Biden to take executive action to stem illegal border crossing while also pushing the Republican hard line H.R. 2, House border security bill. No Democrats back that bill. The result is that there is no resolution to immigration issues, the American southern border is no safer and there is no aid for Ukraine forthcoming. America’s future as a leading world power flounders in the face of these two significant challenges.

 

[Yommie]

Trump calls on states to send troops to the border​

 

[Yommie]

Border security deal faces opposition from Trump, uncertain House prospects​

 

[Yommie]

Bombshell Report Says Lindsey Graham Threw Trump Under the Bus in GA Case: A Closer Look​

 

[Yommie]

Trump wants bi-partisan border deal blocked​

 

[Yommie]

'The Five': Biden's border showdown escalates​