NEWS AND OPINION:
This is not a happy scenario as President Biden prepares to mark his first anniversary in office — which is Thursday. News headlines from the last 24 hours offer evidence that the normally benign news media is acknowledging Mr. Biden’s political woes. Among them:
“Battered White House searches for a comeback scenario,” said CNN.
“White House plots a public reset as Biden agenda fails,” noted NBC News.
“Why is Biden one of the most unpopular U.S. presidents?” asked the Guardian.
This is not the first time the press has gotten noticeably frosty toward Mr. Biden. Similar headlines appeared in mid-August following the rocky and confused U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
“A bungled mess,” the Atlantic said at the time.
“CNN turns on Joe Biden as Afghanistan actions are called a political disaster,” pointed out Newsweek.
“As U.S. leaves Afghanistan, Europe sours on Biden,” advised The Washington Post.
Things are a little grim these days.
“The White House is down to just two core constituencies: Anxious upper-income women with multiple college degrees and barren personal lives, and members of the national news media. And even that might be overstating Biden’s support given that there is such dramatic overlap between those two groups. Essentially they are the same people,” wrote Fox News Channel primetime host Tucker Carlson in a handy commentary published Tuesday.
“Now, because it can always get worse, Biden appears to be losing even the media. This is an ominous development. It’s not an exaggeration to say that if this trend continues, it is the end of the Biden presidency,” he said.
“The media are the only reason Joe Biden is president in the first place. Biden didn’t campaign for the job, he didn’t hold rallies or give speeches or tell the public what he might do if elected. No, for nearly a year Joe Biden stayed home hiding in terror from infectious voters. Instead, he let news organizations make his case for him, which they did,” Mr. Carlson noted.
MEANWHILE IN OREGON
Does the name Alek Skarlatos sound familiar?
It should. He is a former Oregon National Guardsman who attended Air Assault School and Sniper School and achieved the rank of specialist then deployed to Afghanistan. In 2015 he was among a small group of passengers who jumped into action to stop an Islamist terrorist poised to open fire on a train bound for Paris.
His heroism earned him several awards and medals around the world, including the United States Soldier’s Medal.
Mr. Skarlatos is now running for Congress in Oregon’s 4th District, ready, he said in a campaign message, to stand up for “loggers, veterans, moms, dads, and families trying to make ends meet.”
He has also won support from Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, and, now, Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik.
“There is no question that Alek Skarlatos is the man for the job, and I’m proud to endorse him for Congress. Alek is an American hero who won’t back down from defeating Joe Biden and House Democrats’ radical policies,” the New York Republican said in a statement, noting that winning this open seat in Oregon is “critical” in the Republican effort to take back the House.
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA PUSHES BACK
GETTR — a free-speech social-media platform that fights cancel culture — has a noteworthy ratings report to share in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s rally in Florence, Arizona, on Saturday night.
The platform picked up three livestreams of the event from Right Side Broadcasting Network, Real America’s Voice and NewsMax — and ended up with a surprise audience of almost one million viewers — 994,666 to be exact.
Consider that CNN averaged 705,000 primetime viewers, according to the most recent numbers from Nielsen Media Research.
“Live-streaming on GETTR is still in beta testing, but once fully rolled out in 2022, will allow content creators and regular users to broadcast video without the threat of shadow banning, censorship, or demonetization. These streaming numbers announce GETTR’s arrival as a streaming platform and a challenger to Silicon Valley alternatives like YouTube, which for too long has censored and muted voices it does not like. At GETTR, we are focused on giving users unfiltered access to the world’s most influential voices and fiercest free speech advocates,” said GETTR CEO Jason Miller in a statement shared with “Inside the Beltway.”
THOSE MIGHTY REPUBLICAN DONORS
Now a word from WinRed, a Republican online fundraising technology platform used by major organizations such as the Republican National Committee and a “united front” of Republican candidates and groups.
WinRed announced Tuesday that it processed a record-breaking $559 million in Republican donations in 2021, noting that over 3,200 campaigns and organizations currently use WinRed, with more than 1,350 of those at the state and local levels.
Donations to state and local groups increased by 638% compared to 2020
The group also dropped its processing fees on Jan. 1, resulting in a 15% reduction in cost to the campaign.
“We’re putting Republicans at a competitive advantage. We’re leaving no stone unturned to ensure a successful midterm election for the GOP,” said Gerrit Lansing, the organization’s president, in a statement.
POLL DU JOUR
• 36% of U.S. adults now identify as conservatives; 74% of Republicans, 30% of independents and 12% of Democrats agree.
• 42% of non-Hispanic whites, 20% of non-Hispanic Blacks and 31% of Hispanics also agree.
• 37% overall now identify as moderates; 22% of Republicans, 48% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.
• 34% of non-Hispanic Whites, 51% of non-Hispanic Blacks and 38% of Hispanics also agree.
• 25% overall now identify as liberals; 4% of Republicans, 20% of independents and 50% of Democrats agree.
• 23% of non-Hispanic Whites, 26% of non-Hispanic Blacks and 28% of Hispanics also agree.
SOURCE: A Gallup Social Series poll analysis of 12,416 U.S. adults conducted in 13 polls conducted January through December 2021. The findings were released Tuesday.
• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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