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Last evening I had the opportunity to participate in a current politics panel on CNN’s “The Story Is…” program, which shows nationally and internationally. I was invited to participate by the host Elex Michaelson, who has been reporting on California politics on television for many years. Before coming over to CNN he was a staple over at Fox News 11 in Los Angeles.
I was the “right” side of the discussion, appearing opposite lefty YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen [ [link removed] ] (who is somewhat of a phonon with progressives, with like 5 million subscribers).
We hit three topics….
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S APPROVAL RATING AT 36%
The first was the latest Gallup Poll [ [link removed] ] numbers showing the President Trump’s approval rating has hit a new low, at 36%.
I pointed out briefly on the show but will point in detail here that frankly most Presidents have seen dips like this:
Reagan (1982): 35% — deep recession
Clinton (1993–94): 37% — early-term policy backlash
Obama (2011–14): 39% — debt-ceiling crisis, ACA rollout
George H.W. Bush (1992): 29% — post-Gulf War recession
George W. Bush (2008): 25% — Iraq War + financial crash
Carter (1978–80): 28% — inflation, energy crisis, Iran
Ford (1974–75): 37% — Nixon pardon backlash, stagflation
Johnson (1967–68): 35% — Vietnam escalation
Truman (1950–52): 22% — Korean War, inflation
So low polling numbers are not unique to the Presidency or this President.
I do think that the difficulty with the economy is playing the key role here. You can embrace his tariffs, or reject them, but by introducing them (in the highest profile way) he has taken ownership of the economy. So turning things around will be critical for the President, and Senate and House Republicans.
CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA MAY RUN FOR CONGRESS - IN TEXAS?
On this topic I pretty much got to talk this through. Punchbowl News broke this story [ [link removed] ] yesterday morning, and it’s been going around the internet - that Issa is considering running in a new very red districts in Texas, rather than seek election in the new (leaning blue) district he was draw into by the Prop. 50 partisan gerrymander. We talk about it on the show. I think this could happen, but it’s too soon to know, with both the new lines in Texas and the new lines in California both facing litigation in federal court.
US DOJ OPENING A NEW 2A DEFENSE SECTION IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
I wrote on this yesterday, and Elex picked up on it as our final topic. Great leadership by the President, Attorney General Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon… So we talked about it (my lefty seat mate was quite apoplectic about this).
Thanks again for the opportunity, Elex!
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