- The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is rolling out some compelling numbers when it comes to the economy.

“Under President Trump, for the first time in 70 years, our nation achieved energy independence and was on the verge of global energy dominance. Under President Trump, the typical family of four was saving $2,500 a year in lower energy prices thanks to the shale oil and gas revolution alone,” the campaign said in a lengthy analysis released on Monday.

“President Trump believes that by unleashing American energy, we can once again make American energy and electricity the most affordable and reliable in the world. Kamala Harris, on the other hand, wants to make life as difficult as possible for Americans. The price of gasoline has increased by 50% — and if Kamala had her way she’d ban gas-powered vehicles,” the analysis said.

“Harris’ war on energy has increased the costs of all goods. Inflation has risen by 20.2% since Harris and [President] Biden took office — with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation. Harris has denied reality and insists Bidenomics is working,” it said.

“Inflation has risen by 20.2% since Harris and Biden took office — with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation. On a year-over-year basis, inflation under Harris and Biden has averaged 5.3% — roughly double the level of inflation seen under any of the last four administrations,” the analysis declared.

“Groceries are up 21.6%, rent is up 22%, and electricity is up 31.7% since Harris and Biden took office. Car insurance has increased 54.3% under Harris and Biden — stinging the 92% of American households that own at least one car,” it continued.

Find this eye-opening and detailed report at DonaldJTrump.com. The report is listed under the news section — and it has a compelling title: “Only President Trump can bring our economy back on track.”

WHATLEY’S REMINDER

The Republican National Committee is also weighing in on another pivotal public concern.

“Thanks to failed border czar Kamala Harris, more than 10 million illegal immigrants have been welcomed into our country with open arms. As the sitting vice president and appointed border czar, dangerously liberal Kamala Harris’ wide-open border policies allowed more than 100,000 illegal immigrants to cross our southern border in July,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“Americans are desperate for a president that will stop the border bloodbath triggered by Kamala’s radical policies, which is why they strongly support President Trump’s promise to seal the border and start the largest deportation process in history on day one,” Mr. Whatley said.

KEEPING COUNT

The aforementioned Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, meanwhile, is paying close attention to the Democratic Party’s public messaging.

The campaign is particularly interested in speeches featured in the Democratic National Convention underway in Chicago — and has reviewed the content of those speeches which were delivered Monday night.

“Democrats have no vision or solutions to our nation’s problems. Last night’s convention was solely focused on President Trump,” the campaign said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway on Tuesday.

“They would rather talk about President Trump than the problems facing our nation due to Kamala Harris’ failures,” the campaign said.

But on to the numbers.

According to their count, speakers from the Democratic Party have mentioned Mr. Trump 147 times at the event so far. The economy has been mentioned 27 times, the U.S. border eight times, crime six times, prices five times and inflation a mere three times.

THE CONVENTION REVIEWS

The news media are offering heavy coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Here are some headlines of note from the last 24 hours:

“How the DNC solved its Joe Biden problem” (Vox); “Hillary Clinton rallies Democrats behind Harris: ‘This is where we break through’” (The New York Times); “Biden gets hero’s welcome, and protesters pull down fences to get into the DNC” (NPR); “Biden passes torch to Harris in first night of the DNC” (The Washington Post); “NBA coach Steve Kerr at the DNC: ‘Leaders must display dignity’” (MSNBC); “Kamala Harris has rallied Democrats, but now comes the hard part” (Politico); and “Why are there so many empty seats at the DNC?” (Yahoo News)

FOXIFIED

Fox News has done well in its online outreach recently. Fox News Digital finished July with some impressive numbers. The Fox News website attracted 119 million visitors who racked up 1.9 billion views and spent 3.9 billion minutes lingering at the site that month — according to Comscore, an industry source. This marks the best month for visitor views and minutes for the network since January 2021.

Fox News was also the most engaged brand on social media in July with 42 million interactions in all, marking a 39% year-over-year gain and a 59% gain compared with June, according to Emplifi, also an industry source.

There’s more. Fox News drove 13.4 million interactions on Facebook, 25.2 million Instagram interactions and 3.3 million X interactions. On YouTube, Fox News also drew 341.2 million video views, making it the most viewed news brand, according to Shareablee, another industry source.

FoxBusiness.com, meanwhile, accumulated 176 million views, outperforming CNN Business for the 28th straight month and Bloomberg.com for the 39th consecutive month.

POLL DU JOUR

• 46% of U.S. shoppers use money-saving strategies when buying school supplies.

• 32% say inflation has changed the way they shop for these supplies.

• 31% say they will “take on debt” to fund their school spending.

• 28% will look for more deals and coupons than they did in the past.

• 22% have set aside money for school supplies.

• 21% plan to buy cheaper brands of school supplies.

• 19% will buy less supplies than in previous years.

• 13% will use a “buy now, pay later” plan for their supplies.

SOURCE: A Bankrate/YouGov survey of 1,163 U.S. adults who have shopped or plan to shop school supplies this year, conducted online July 15-17 and released Monday.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.

• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.

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