Thanksgiving etiquette: What to do about a Trump flag in mixed company?

NEWS AND OPINION:

So is this a “meal breaker”?

One holiday host is wondering whether a Donald Trump flag should be removed from the wall because a Democrat will be among the family’s Thanksgiving guests.

“Thanksgiving is coming up and it has some Trump-voting hosts wondering how to handle their Kamala-voting guests. One woman is asking X whether she should take down her large indoor Trump banner or leave it up for all to see. It’s not the guest making the request, but her own husband. Should it stay or should it go?” asks Warren Squire, a writer for Twitchy.com, a news and opinion site which also posted 15 suggestions from readers on how to deal with the dilemma.

“Commenters seem split on what she should do. Does she respect her husband’s wishes and take down the banner? Should she be a gracious host and take it down to avoid fighting? Or, should she leave it up and let the guest deal with it? Trump is her guest’s president, after all. We may have to check back on Thanksgiving Day and see what she decided to do,” Mr. Squire advised.

AND IN SUMMATION

Sen. John Barrasso had a ready answer for a pivotal question.

“What’s your top tier policy priority for the start of the new Congress?” Fox News anchor Gillian Turner asked during an interview with the Wyoming Republican on Sunday.

“It is a mandate to get things done, to govern, not to grandstand, to take action. We need to take action on what the American people are most concerned about which are high prices and an open border,” he replied.

“So our priorities are to get prices down, to secure the border and, of course, to retain America’s and regain America’s strength in the world. On day No. 1, President Trump can take executive actions and they can do that to shut down our open border and to open up our shut down oil rigs,” Mr. Barrasso elaborated.

“What’s so important though — and you just had this in your last interview about the dangerous world that President Trump is finding as he enters the Oval Office — our enemies are much more dangerous, aggressive, menacing and powerful than they were when he left office. So it’s critical for us in the Senate to make sure that on Day One, President Trump has confirmed his national security team so they can all hit the ground running,” the senator advised.

’STARTLING STATS’

The House Committee on Homeland Security has released its October “Startling Stats” factsheet, which details U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border encounter data for October. Here’s a small sampling of those stats:

“According to CBP, for the fourth October in a row under the Biden-Harris administration, nationwide encounters totaled more than 140,000, including more than 100,000 at the Southwest border. Total nationwide encounters since FY2021 are now closing in on 11 million, compared to just 3.1 million from FY2017-2020. 
“The public safety impacts of this historic influx have been devastating. Since FY2021, Border Patrol agents have recorded 56,154 arrests of aliens with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants nationwide,” the fact sheet said.

“Since FY2021, 9,254 pounds of fentanyl have been seized between ports of entry nationwide by Border Patrol agents, compared to just 1,604 pounds from FY2017-FY2020,” it continued.

“Since the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded more than 10.9 million encounters nationwide, including more than 8.8 million at the Southwest border. CBP encountered 62,897 single adults, 36,718 family unit individuals, and 6,604 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) at the Southwest border,” the fact sheet also noted.

Find the committee at homeland.house.gov.

MEANWHILE IN TEXAS

“Texas students will soon learn about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the Prodigal Son and other Bible stories in their elementary classrooms. State Board of Education members on Friday narrowly approved 8-7 the state-crafted instructional materials infused with Christianity,” the Dallas Morning News reported in an analysis released Friday.

The Lone Star State is officially reworking its public school curriculum for young Texans to include  “Bluebonnet learning,” which is based around faith-related information and fundamental content in math, reading, and science.

“The passage of Bluebonnet Learning is a critical step forward to bring students back to the basics of education and provide the best education in the nation,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a written statement released Friday.

“These transformative educational materials are voluntary and free for schools and teachers to use. And with parents also able to access these materials online, we will ensure young Texans have access to high-quality, grade-level appropriate curricula that will provide the necessary fundamentals in math, reading, science, and other core subjects and boost student outcomes across Texas. I thank the Texas Education Agency for working tirelessly to bolster students’ educational foundation and equip them with the knowledge they need to lead bright, successful lives in Texas,”  Mr. Abbott said.

The new program also emphasizes a certain schoolhouse tradition.

“Bluebonnet Learning materials are print resources, not digital. While the source files are available for online review in PDF format by parents and districts for the purposes of evaluating the materials, the Bluebonnet Learning materials are designed to be printed. Printed teacher guides are used by teachers both during the lesson and for annotation during planning time,” the Texas Education Agency said in a written statement.

POLL DU JOUR

• 31% of U.S. adults are “happy” that President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

• 68% of Republicans, 24% of independents and 3% of Democrats agree.

• 24% are “satisfied” that he won.

• 26% of Republicans, 30% of independents and 12% of Democrats agree.

• 23% overall are “dissatisfied” that he won.

• 5% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.

• 21% are “angry” that he won.

• 1% of Republicans, 19% of independents and 48% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A CBS News poll of 2,232 U.S. adults conducted by interview Nov. 19-22.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse. Contact her at jharper@washingtontimes.com.