NEWS AND OPINION:
Whenever President Trump hosts a Make America Great Again rally, it is a given that protesters will also appear — whether they are pro-immigration, anti-gun or diehard Hillary Clinton feminists. Mr. Trump’s MAGA gathering in El Paso, Texas, on Monday is no exception, and it comes with plenty of power. The event officially marks the beginning of his 2020 presidential campaign and is meant as a clear demonstration of “how much Americans demand the wall,” Mr. Trump said in an email.
This time, however, the protester is none other than former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Lone Star Democrat and a potential rival in the 2020 race who has organized something called March for Truth: Stop the Wall, Stop the Lies with the help of Democratic state and local elected officials and 36 activist groups, including the Women’s March, Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Our Revolution Texas, Voto Latino, Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee and Mexicanos En Exilio, to name just a few.
“Wear white. Bring a positive poster. Dress warm. Try to carpool or use rideshare. Join us for a peaceful and vocal event,” the organizers advise, noting that their gathering — essentially staged just across the street from the Trump rally — will also include five bands and some 60 musicians.
Part of their theme revolves around Mr. Trump’s reference to El Paso in his very well-received State of the Union address, suggesting it had been a dangerous city before a “powerful barrier” had gone up — but has since emerged as one of the safest cities in the nation.
“The response to the president’s focus on El Paso is drawing new attention to Beto O’Rourke,” reported local radio station KXAN. “The speculation is over whether the former congressman will join the race for the Democratic nomination for president. Oprah Winfrey tried to get a definitive answer from O’Rourke during an interview last week. O’Rourke told her he’s thinking about it, and plans to make a decision before the end of the month.”
He appears to be practicing a few presidential postures.
“We will meet lies and hate with truth and a vision for the future,” Mr. O’Rourke says in a video message released Sunday, noting that “the eyes of the country are on El Paso.” In addition to the March on Monday, Mr. O’Rourke also will conduct a news conference, accompanied by immigration activists.
A lot of eyes will also be on Mr. Trump as well. C-SPAN will cover his Texas rally beginning at 9 p.m. EST. In addition, Fox News prime-time host Laura Ingraham will conduct an exclusive interview with the president, to air about 10 p.m. EST.
THE 42 MILLION-MEMBER CARAVAN
“Here’s a good question about caravans: How many more are coming? Gallup asked the whole population of Latin America. There are 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Roughly 450 million adults live in the region. Gallup asked them, ’Would you like to move to another country permanently if you could?’ A whopping 27 percent said ’yes.’ So this means roughly 120 million would like to migrate somewhere,” writes Jim Clifton, the chairman and CEO of the Gallup poll.
The comes the second part of what appears to be a massive survey.
“The next question Gallup asked was, ’Where would you like to move?’ Of those who want to leave their Latin American country permanently, 35 percent said they want to go to the United States. The Gallup analytics estimate is that 42 million want to come to the U.S. Forty-two million seekers of citizenship or asylum are watching to determine exactly when and how is the best time to make the move. This suggests that open borders could potentially attract 42 million Latin Americans. A full 5 million who are planning to move in the next 12 months say they are moving to the U.S.,” reports Mr. Clifton.
“Most U.S. citizens like me just want to know the plan. What is the 10-year plan? How many, exactly whom and what skills will they bring? What do we want? Answer these questions, and the current discussion can be resolved. Keep in mind that it’s not only 330 million Americans who are wondering — so are 42 million seekers from Latin America,” he advises.
NOW THERE’S A THOUGHT
“The Democrats’ disastrous week highlights Trump’s sanity,” writes New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin, who cites the ongoing controversies racial and otherwise surrounding Democratic leaders in Virginia, and the Green New Deal, as proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
In stark contrast was President Trump’s State of the Union address, which landed a 76 percent approval rating among viewers in both a CBS News and a CNN poll despite a lot of tepid coverage from the news media, and catcalling among the late night TV crowd.
“If you are of the mind that President Trump is to blame for everything wrong and wacky in our politics, then last week was a very bad week for you. The evidence begins with Trump’s very good State of the Union speech, where he was alternately conciliatory toward Democrats and ruthless in contrasting his policies with theirs. Reckless in their rhetoric and resistance, Dems make themselves vulnerable to charges that they support open borders, socialism and infanticide,” Mr. Goodwin points out.
THE LIKELY DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE
“In a year where the Democratic Party swore in the most diverse, most female class in history, most voters see that trend continuing all the way to the White House,” notes a new Rasmussen Reports poll of 1,000 voters.
“The survey finds that 63 percent of likely U.S. voters think it’s at least somewhat likely that the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 will be a woman or a person of color. Just 24 percent think that’s unlikely. This includes 23 percent who say a woman or person of color is ’very likely’ to win the Democratic presidential nomination and 7 percent who say it’s ’not at all likely’ while 13 percent are undecided,” the poll noted.
POLL DU JOUR
• 70 percent of Americans say they are “very satisfied with the way their personal life is going at this time.”
• 70 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of Democrats agree.
• 68 percent of those over age 65 and 58 percent of those 50-64 years agree.
• 55 percent of those age 30-49 years and 40 percent of those 18-29 years also agree.
• 61 percent of “whites” and 47 percent of “nonwhites” also agree.
Source: A Gallup poll of 1,017 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 2-10 and released Friday.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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