NEWS AND OPINION:
So how popular is the Granite State when it comes to presidential candidates? It’s a required destination for Republican hopefuls, and a former South Carolina governor is no exception. Republican candidate Nikki Haley reveals that she has hosted campaign events in every single county in New Hampshire, according to a new campaign message shared with Inside the Beltway.
On Thursday, she will be joined by Gov. Chris Sununu for a town hall in Merrimack. Then it’s on to Manchester for a town hall with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, followed by a “Parents in Charge” community discussion.
By the end of the week, Mrs. Haley will have participated in 49 grassroots events in New Hampshire. Then it’s on to South Carolina for two campaign stops.
So how is she faring? An NMB Research poll of 800 likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire conducted Aug. 25-31 has some insight.
“Donald Trump has a significant lead on the Republican presidential primary ballot. The former president currently garners 47% on the primary ballot, giving him a more than thirty percentage point lead over his closest challengers — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, both at 10%,” the poll analysis said.
Meanwhile, the findings are tepid for a former New Jersey governor and a high-profile entrepreneur.
“Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy both sit at 8%, with no other candidate receiving more than 5% of the vote,” the analysis said.
Mr. Scott on the move
Another Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, will also be in New Hampshire on Thursday, headed for a late-afternoon barbecue in the town of Rye, hosted by Scott Brown.
Remember Scott Brown? He served as both a U.S. senator for Massachusetts and the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
Moving right along, Mr. Scott — the senator — then makes an appearance on Friday at a charter school in Manchester and meets with local faith leaders. Then it’s on to the charming lakeside community of Meredith, where the candidate will attend a meet-and-greet with local homebuilders and host a town hall with local residents some 90 minutes later.
Ukraine still in need
The Department of Defense has offered further security and defense assistance to Ukraine, according to an announcement shared with Inside the Beltway on Wednesday. This marks the Biden administration’s 46th tranche of equipment for Ukraine since August 2021.
This assistance is valued at $175 million and includes equipment to support Ukraine’s air defense systems, plus more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds; 81mm mortars systems and rounds; 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks and Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles.
All of these items are listed verbatim from the Defense Department.
In addition, the aid includes Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; over 3 million rounds of small-arms ammunition; tactical air navigation systems; tactical secure communications systems and support equipment; demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.
“The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements,” the announcement stated.
Foxified
For the week of Aug. 28- Sept. 3, Fox News was the most-watched network in the entire cable TV realm in prime time and throughout the day. Fox News attracted 1.7 million prime-time viewers and an average 1.1 million viewers throughout the day, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox News also aired 69 of the top 100 cable news telecasts during the week.
“The Five” was the top program for the week, averaging 2.8 million viewers, followed by “Jesse Watters Primetime” (2.5 million) and “Hannity” (2.3 million). Late-night host Greg Gutfeld, meanwhile, attracted 1.9 million, as did “Special Report With Bret Baier.”
Fox News weekday programs are also besting the broadcast competition. With audiences of 1.4 million each, both “America’s Newsroom” and “Outnumbered” outranked NBC’s daily “Today With Hoda & Jenna.”
Over the weekend, “Sunday Morning Futures” topped its competition on CNN and MSNBC with 1.2 million viewers, as did “Life, Liberty & Levin,” which drew an audience of 1.1 million.
A telling summary
The U.S. still has a troubling, porous border, according to those who track the trends.
“In the 30 months that the Biden administration has been in office, there have been 6.9 million encounters of illegal aliens at the border. In addition to this figure, an additional 1.7 million migrants entered the U.S. as “gotaways,” i.e., were observed entering the United States but were not detained or turned back. This brings the total number of migrants who have illegally entered the U.S. to 8.6 million people. By way of comparison, this is equivalent to the entire population of the state of Virginia, or over six times the number of active service personnel in the U.S. armed forces. These numbers are breathtaking,” wrote Michael McManus, director of research for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a nonpartisan, public interest organization.
His report was released Monday.
Poll du jour
• 37% of computer science experts from U.S. universities agree that a new “Department of AI” federal agency would be the “best entity” to regulate artificial intelligence.
• 22% of the experts agree that a global organization would be the best entity to regulate AI.
• 16% agree that the U.S. Congress would be the best entity.
• 14% agree that an agency would be “irrelevant because AI cannot be effectively regulated.”
• 4% agree that the White House would be the best entity.
• 3% agree that a private sector organization would be the best entity.
• 3% say no organization would be the best entity because “AI should not be regulated.”
Source: An Axios-Generation Lab-Syracuse University AI Experts survey of 213 computer science and engineering professors from top U.S. research universities.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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