Inside the Beltway: Trump approval ‘ticks up’ to 50%

NEWS AND OPINION:

Could it be buyer’s remorse following the presidential election? Is it due to uneasiness about presumed President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s potential arrival at the White House, agenda in hand? Whatever the reason, President Trump’s approval ratings have popped up to 50% among all voters despite a pronounced partisan divide among respondents, according to a Hill-HarrisX Daily Poll released Wednesday.

“Trump’s job approval ticks up to 50% post-election,” the poll headline advised.
One thing is for sure. Mr. Trump’s fans are standing by their man.

“Ninety-three percent of voters who said they cast their ballots for Trump approve of his job as president, as do 14% of those who voted for President-elect Joe Biden. The survey found 83% of Republican respondents approve of Trump’s job as commander in chief,” analyst Gabriela Schulte reports.

The poll also found that 19% of Democrats and 46% of independents also approved. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump also got the nod from 60% of rural residents, 54% of men, 53% of Midwesterners and 51% of Southerners, to cite a few numbers. He did not do so well among Black voters (21% favorable), young adults (41%), Hispanics or women (both 45%). The poll was conducted Nov. 27-30 among 2,825 registered U.S. voters.

And one more thing about that aforementioned Trump voter loyalty. A CNBC poll found that just 3% of those who voted for the president felt he should concede the election.

The survey of 1,203 U.S. adults who voted for Mr. Trump was conducted Nov. 18-21.

HUBBUB OVER A REPUBLICAN CHRISTMAS GALA

Since it was founded in 1911, the New York Young Republicans Club has hosted a grand Christmas gala that very year. The tradition continues for the organization, located in Manhattan of course.

On Thursday, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, and James O’Keefe — the intrepid investigative journalist and founder of Project Veritas — are the headline speakers for the annual black-tie revels. There’s a cordial cocktail reception, an awards ceremony, a “State of the Club” address, and a sumptuous seated dinner. And of course, there will be wisdom and wit from Mr. Gaetz and Mr. O’Keefe.

The sold-out event will follow all suggested safety precautions and recommendations, says club president Gavin Wax. He also had a word for critics in the news media who do not approve of the gathering,
“When the New York Young Republicans Club is front page of The Daily Beast, you know you are doing something right,” Mr. Wax tweeted Wednesday.

FOXIFIED

Fox News ended November with the largest audiences for the 11th month of the year in the network’s history, drawing an average of 3.9 million prime-time viewers. CNN garnered 2.8 million, MSNBC 1.5 million. The numbers are from Nielsen Media Research.

Fox News has bested its two cable news rivals for 227 months in a row, which equals just under 19 years — yes, years — in the top spot. In addition, Fox News aired 39 of the top 100 cable telecasts in November, also delivering six telecasts with over 10 million viewers.

Prime-time host Tucker Carlson is the ratings kingpin, averaging 5.1 million nightly viewers. Fellow host Sean Hannity follows, averaging 4.9 million viewers.

In addition, “Sunday Morning Futures” anchored by Maria Bartiromo was the highest-rated cable news program across the board on Sunday, with her energetic and exclusive interview with President Trump, his first since the November election. The program earned an audience of 2.4 million viewers.

WHEELING, DEALING AND HEALING

One of the more popular Democratic narratives is the idea that the nation needs to “heal” following the 2020 election — a somewhat ironic idea given that many biased news organizations and journalists fed the national discord 24/7 from the get-go.

Presumed President-elect Joseph R. Biden, in fact, declared it was “time to heal” in his premature victory speech on Nov. 7 — and the cozy “heal” signal has resonated through mawkish news coverage and editorials ever since.

Not everyone agrees with it.

“Joe Biden heal the nation? Seriously? He’s having trouble healing the divisions in his own party,” noted Boston Herald columnist Joe Battenfeld, who makes the point that many high-profile progressive Democrats are not very happy with the nascent Biden administration.

What about voters themselves? A new survey from veteran pollster John Zogby finds that 49% of registered U.S. voters agree that the nation could “heal and unite” following the election. Another 24%, however, rejected the idea while 27% were “not sure”.

There are some very marked differences of opinion among the demographics, however. Surprisingly enough, more men than women were optimistic about all the “healing” business: 55% of the menfolk and 43% of the ladies think the U.S. can unite. Among young adults under age 24, 54% shared the optimism, compared to 37% of voters over 50 and a mere 28% of those over 70.

Six out of 10 among both Black voters and Hispanic voters also agree the nation can heal, as do 50% of Asian and 44% of White voters.

Oh, but it’s going to get complicated.

“President-elect Biden convinced voters he can do a better job than Trump managing the pandemic and the economy. Talk is cheap and it’s one thing to say you are the president of everyone, but in reality, Biden represents a party, some of whom, are hell bent on settling the score with Republicans,” Mr. Zogby says.

“We have all heard this before — ’hope and change and build back better.’ Now it’s time to work with the other side and deliver results, not soundbites or empty promises. If Biden delivers, everyone wins. If he turns out to be another politician elected on empty promises, then hell hath no fury like a scorned ex-president,” he notes.

POLL DU JOUR

⦁ 78% of U.S. pharmacists plan to be vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccine.
⦁ 52% overall want it “as soon as possible.”
⦁ 17% would be vaccinated six months after the vaccine is available.
⦁ 9% would receive the vaccine after a year’s time.
⦁ 6% will not have the vaccine.
⦁ 17% are undecided about it.

Source: AN AMERICAN PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION survey of 400 PHARMACISTS conducted Nov. 21-28.

⦁ Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.