Buzz Aldrin backing Donald Trump for president

NEWS AND OPINION:

Buzz Aldrin — the NASA hero who took the world’s first successful spacewalk and set foot on the moon in 1969 — has endorsed former President Donald Trump’s quest for the White House.

“America is a nation of bold ambition, hope, and energy. We are a nation of free thought, free association, and free movement. We are a nation that allows the best of humanity to emerge, and we strive for great things. Only in America, the nation that I love, believe in, and took an oath to defend, do you find our spirit, the vision to break boundaries, turn impossible feats into reality,” Mr. Aldrin said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of scientific understanding, exploration, and an enduring human presence in space. The importance of that mission, that calling, runs through every fiber of my being,” he said.

“Over the years, I have seen our government’s approach to space wax and wane, a fluctuating dynamic that has disappointed me from time to time. But under the first Trump administration, I was impressed to see how human space exploration was elevated, made a policy of high importance again. Under President Trump’s first term, America saw a revitalized interest in space. His administration reignited national efforts to get back to the Moon, and push on to Mars — programs that continue today,” Mr. Aldrin said

“The Trump Administration also reinstituted the National Space Council, so leading voices could advocate for the importance of space to America. Finally, under President Trump, the Nation’s defense was enhanced with the creation of the U.S. Space Force — increasingly important as space becomes a contested domain. At the same time, I have been enthused and excited by the great advancements in the private sector space economy, led by visionaries like Elon Musk. These are concrete accomplishments that align with my concerns and America’s policy priorities,” he said.

Visit him at buzzaldrin.com.

A PRESIDENTIAL HALLOWEEN

Let’s return to another era for a peek at the White House on Halloween back in the day.

“On October 30, 1958, First lady Mamie Eisenhower decorated the White House for Halloween for the first time. She hosted a lunch for the wives of staff members in the State Dining Room of the White House. Decorations included skeletons hanging from the wall lights, yellow jack-o’-lanterns, and shocks of dried corn in the corners of the room, and State Dining Room columns that were decorated at their bases with brown corn stalks, pumpkins, and red apples,” a detailed report about the event from the White House Historical Association said.

“The tables had miniature witches on broomsticks and 16 silver bowls filled with yellow and bronze chrysanthemums. Scattered on the tables were autumn leaves and autumn nuts, ears of dried corn, as well as dried gourds and dried squash. Black cats, black owls, disembodied witch heads, and goblins hung from the chandeliers in the foyer,” the report said.

“Halloween took on a large significance during the Richard M. Nixon administration, as the first family hosted a series of public events for local children. In 1969, 250 local children from the Widening Horizons program came to a White House Halloween party. The North Entrance to the White House was converted into the mouth of a huge 17-foot high pumpkin. Once the visitors walked through, two witches stirring cauldrons awaited, handing out masks,” a separate report from the association stated.

The president’s daughter Tricia took an active role.

“Tricia Nixon, dressed in a purple and green gown with a purple harlequin mask, welcomed the children and their parents. The East Room was bedecked with balloons and filled with sideshows of clowns, magicians, fortune-tellers, puppeteers, and apple bobbers,” the report said.

PAYING ATTENTION

“Some pundits have suggested the immigration and crime nexus has been overblown, especially by conservative media, and that it’s dying as an issue,” said Terry Jones, editor of Issues & Insights, a news organization that is home to the TIPP Poll.

He has numbers to share — a new TIPP poll of 1,491 adults conducted Oct. 2-4 and released Wednesday. It found that 67% of the respondents are “closely following” news about the release of illegal immigrants with possible criminal backgrounds into the U.S.

“A majority of both major political parties, along with independents and third-party voters, claimed to be watching closely. For Democrats, it was 63% closely, versus 34% not closely, while for Republicans it was 83% to 16%. Independents weren’t far behind, at 59% to 36%,” Mr. Jones wrote in his report.

“It’s one thing to pay attention, another to be actually worried. For the second question, possible voters were asked how concerned they were about the release of criminals and gang members in the U.S. As it turns out, they’re very concerned: 73% said they were either ’very concerned’ (49%) or ’somewhat concerned’ (24%), while just 21% expressed they were either ’not very concerned’ (13%) or ’not at all concerned’ (8%),” Mr. Jones said.

THE GOLD FACTOR

The escalating price of gold is making headlines. Here’s a few from the last 24 hours.

“Gold touches record peak on U.S. election jitters, Mid-East woes” (CNBC); “Gold price soars to all-time high ahead of election” (Newsweek); “Gold rises to record high as looming U.S. election fans demand” (Bloomberg News); “Gold at record high as global political uncertainty boosts safe-haven demand” (Reuters); “Gold prices smash another record: What gold assets should you buy now?” (CBS News); “Gold hits fresh record high amid U.S. election tension” (MarketWatch); and “Trump or Harris? Gold rally expected to persist regardless of U.S. election outcome” (Yahoo Finance).

POLL DU JOUR

• 15% of registered voters say they trust the Supreme Court a great deal to make the right decisions on legal cases related to the 2024 election.

• 31% of Republicans, 11% of independents and 4% of Democrats agree.

• 31% overall say they generally trust the Supreme Court to make the right decisions on 2024 election cases.

• 31% of Republicans, 29% of independents and 33% of Democrats agree.

• 29% overall say they trust the Supreme Court only a moderate amount to make the right decisions.

• 31% of Republicans, 30% of independents and 25% of Democrats agree.

• 25% overall say they do not trust the Supreme Court at all.

• 7% of Republicans, 30% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A CNN/SSRS poll of 1,704 registered U.S. voters conducted online and by phone Oct. 20-23.

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com and have a pleasant Halloween.