NEWS AND OPINION:
When President Trump pushes back against the impeachment hearings, millions of his fans are delighted with his rapid response — delivered while he tends the vital business of the White House and his 2020 reelection campaign. However, the Democrats also are ramping up their aggression — now deploying strategic, carefully researched descriptors to convince Americans that wrongdoing has occurred.
“Dems throw words at walls, hoping something will stick. Quid pro quo, bribery, extortion, abuse of power, obstruction and witness intimidation are all getting a tryout. The search for buzzwords proves the entire enterprise is 100% political,” writes New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin.
It’s a marketing thing.
“It turns out impeachment is actually about polling. The Washington Post reported on Friday that Democrats have stopped using the term ’quid pro quo’, instead describing ’bribery’ as a more direct summation of Trump’s alleged conduct. Why the change, you ask? It turns out the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran focus groups in battleground states in order to determine the most effective messaging,” writes PJ Media columnist Matt Margolis.
“Democrats are essentially deciding what to accuse President Trump of doing based on polling in key battleground areas. Apparently Trump’s crimes aren’t clear enough. Democrats need to run focus groups to figure out what language has the strongest impact,” says Mr. Margolis.
All these fancy maneuvers and scare techniques, however, have not fazed the president, who continues to take care of business without losing a beat. And that is how it has been for the Mr. Trump for a very long time. Let us revisit one of his thoughts that surfaced over three decades ago and still appears to be percolating.
“In most cases I’m very easy to get along with. I’m very good to people who are good to me. But when people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my general attitude, all my life, has been to fight back very hard,” Mr. Trump wrote in “The Art of the Deal,” his bestselling book originally published in 1987.
“The risk is you’ll make a bad situation worse, and I certainly don’t recommend this approach to everyone. But my experience is that if you’re fighting for something you believe in — even if it means alienating some people along the way — things usually work out for the best in the end,” Mr. Trump advised.
THE ACTUAL EFFECT OF IMPEACHMENT
Oh, dear. This is not exactly what the Democrats had in mind when they orchestrated impeachment hearings against President Trump.
Eight out of 10 voters — 79% — say the president is either “not very likely” or “not likely at all” to resign as a result of the impeachment process according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. A further breakdown: 91% of Republicans, 76% of independents and 73% of Democrats agree with this. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump’s favorability rating is actually going up.
“The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows that 50% of likely U.S. voters approve of President Trump’s job performance,” the pollster said following the first two impeachment hearings.
“The president’s overall approval has been tracking up since Wednesday, the first day of the House impeachment hearings. It was at 46% on Wednesday morning, then rose to 48% on Thursday and was 50% by Friday.”
Rasmussen also found that 53% of likely U.S. voters think most reporters are “trying to help impeach President Trump” when they write or talk about the impeachment effort.
Last but not least, a new Axios poll currently proclaims this: “Politics are driving Democrats mad. More than 70% of Democrats say politics is making them increasingly angry about America, leaving them feeling like strangers in their own land.”
ANOTHER REALITY CHECK
“As impeachment fizzles, the stock market soars,” writes David Marcus, New York correspondent for The Federalist.
“On Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to 28,004, a new record. In fact all major U.S. stock indexes hit new highs, and the SNP 500 hit its longest streak of weekly gains in two years. Put simply, it was a really good day for the economy,” he notes.
LOOKING TO FEBRUARY
Super Bowl hysteria is already afoot. That hysteria is well established for the advertisers, as well as the hosting TV network.
“Fox has already sold 78% of its in-game inventory and expects to be sold out ’well before’ the Feb. 2 game in Miami,” reports AdWeek, an industry source.
“Fox Sports is receiving as much as $5.6 million per 30-second spot,” Seth Winter, executive vice president for sports sales for Fox Sports, told the publication — noting this is a new Super Bowl record.
By the way, that works out to $186,666 per second — which perhaps will make sense in 2020, a year predicted to include a $10 billion presidential election.
WHITE HOUSE INTERNSHIP ALERT
Applications are being accepted for the Summer 2020 White House Internship Program. Hopefuls must be at least 18 and currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at a college, community college or university, or have recently completed their degree. U.S. military veterans with a high school diploma or equivalent are also welcome.
“Applicants are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to public service, leadership in the community, and commitment to the Trump administration,” the organizers advise.
The online application process is open until Jan. 3. Consult Whitehouse.gov/participate/internships.
POLL DU JOUR
• 57% of Americans say illegal immigration is a serious problem in the U.S.; 85% of Republicans, 56% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.
• 25% say it is a minor problem; 9% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 43% of Democrats agree.
• 9% say are not sure about the issue: 4% of Republicans, 16% of independents and 6% of Democrats agree.
• 8% say illegal immigration is not a problem; 2% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 4% of Democrats agree.
Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 10-12.
• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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