NEWS AND OPINION:
President Biden has arrived in Northern Ireland for official meetings around the beautiful Emerald Isle and some personal stops along the way. A few evocative headlines from the last 24 hours reflect how the ever-friendly press interprets the trip:
“Biden to explore his Irish lineage and meet with relatives on overseas trip” (NBC News); “Biden’s trip to Ireland is part homecoming, part diplomacy and part politics” (CNN); “Biden takes son Hunter and sister Valerie to Ireland as investigations heat up” (Fox News); “In Ireland, Biden is on a diplomatic and deeply personal mission” (National Public Radio); “Why Ireland is so important to Joe Biden” (BBC); “Why Biden’s return to Ireland, his ancestral homeland, may not be a storybook trip” (Politico); and “Ireland readies a warm welcome for Biden, ‘the most Irish’ president since JFK” (The New York Times).
THE GOP TAKES A LOOK
“Recent polls show that when President Joe Biden claims his economic ‘plan’ is ‘working,’ he could not be more out of touch with reality,” said Tommy Pigott, rapid response director for the Republican National Committee, in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.
Those surveys, he said, include a Gallup Poll that found that 83% of U.S. adults have a negative view of the economy; a CNBC survey that revealed that 70% are financially stressed and 58% are living paycheck to paycheck; and a CNN poll that said 62% of the respondents disapprove of Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy — while only 32% said he deserves to be reelected.
“So what is Biden’s solution as his destructive agenda continues to hurt working families? Hire 30,000 IRS agents over the next three years — more than the total number of Border Patrol agents — to conduct hundreds of thousands of additional middle-class audits. It’s clear: Biden’s economic plan is not working,” Mr. Pigott said.
THEY CHOSE CHICAGO
Meanwhile, the Windy City is about to get a lot windier.
The Democratic Party is gearing up for the challenges of a presidential election and will hold its 2024 national convention and nominate its candidate in Chicago, according to the Democratic National Committee in a statement released Tuesday.
President Biden deemed Chicago a “great choice” for the big event. Republicans, of course, beg to differ.
“We look forward to the convention where their radical agenda will be on full display for the world to see. Voters will soundly reject whichever out-of-touch liberal the Democrats nominate in Chicago and instead elect our Republican nominee as the next President of the United States,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
MIDDLE-CLASS BLUES
Well, so much for one particular aspect of White House policy.
“Few Americans say President Joe Biden’s policies have provided a lot of help to middle-class families — or to poor or wealthy families for that matter,” advises a new Monmouth University poll released Tuesday.
“Just 10% of Americans say middle-class families have benefited a lot from Biden’s policies so far — while 51% say the middle class has not benefited at all,” the poll analysis said.
And 36% said the middle class had benefited “a little.”
“Biden’s appeal when he ran for president was that he understands the average Joe. Reaction to his policy agenda, however, suggests it is an area where he remains weak,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Congress, meanwhile, also got a tepid evaluation by the poll respondents.
“How much weight do members of Congress give to the concerns of average Americans when they decide which policies to support: A great deal, some, not much, or none at all?” the poll asked.
And the numbers: 39% said lawmakers give “not much” concern, 28% said they had “some” concern, 23% said the lawmakers had “no concern at all.” Another 6% of the respondents said lawmakers exhibited a “great deal” of concern.
The poll of 805 U.S. adults was conducted March 16-20.
FOXIFIED
In the week of April 3–9, Fox News bested cable news rivals CNN and MSNBC both throughout the day and in the peak prime-time period, earning a daily average of 2.4 million viewers in the later hours. In that time period, MSNBC earned an audience of 1.5 million while CNN got just 717,000 viewers.
During former President Trump’s speech on April 4 following his arraignment, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” had its highest-rated night since 2020, with over 6.7 million viewers.
In addition, Fox News also aired 67 of the top 100 cable news telecasts. Mr. Carlson also drew an average 4 million nightly viewers over the entire week. “The Five” was runner-up with a daily average of 3.4 million viewers.
As far as daytime programming goes, Fox News was the leading network — No. 1 — in the entire cable realm, with an audience of 1.4 million. That number bested not only CNN and MSNBC but also non-news rivals such as ESPN, HGTV and the Food Network.
POLL DU JOUR
• 23% of U.S. adults say that the “criminal case against Donald Trump” makes it “much less likely” that they will vote for him in 2024; 7% of Republicans, 13% of independents and 39% of Democrats agree.
• 5% overall say the case makes them “somewhat less likely” to vote for him in 2024; 5% of Republicans, 5% of independents and 5% of Democrats agree.
• 43% overall say it will have no impact on the likelihood of voting for him; 38% of Republicans, 57% of independents and 43% of Democrats agree.
• 6% overall say the case makes them “somewhat more likely” to vote for him; 7% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 6% of Democrats agree.
• 15% overall say the case makes them “much more likely” to vote for him; 33% of Republicans, 8% of independents and 5% of Democrats agree.
• 7% overall are not sure about the issue; 9% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 3% of Democrats agree.
SOURCE: A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,004 U.S. adults conducted April 5-6.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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