Fake News Poll
Yesterday's Washington Post eagerly reported that as President Trump "nears the 100-day mark of his administration" he is "the least popular chief executive in modern times." According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, just 42% of Americans approve of his job performance, while 53% disapprove.
Here's what you need to understand about this poll -- it was conducted among adults, the worst possible sample from the standpoint of accuracy, especially when it comes to elections. You don't even have to be a citizen, much less a registered or even likely voter, to be an "adult."
Now contrast the Post's poll of adults with Rasmussen's poll of likely voters, which finds that 51% approve of President Trump's job performance.
But when you get past the Post's "fake news," you can still find a couple of interesting nuggets of information. For example, pollsters asked people how they would vote if the 2016 election were held today. Surprisingly, Trump won 43% to Hillary Clinton's 40%. Keep in mind that on Election Day, Clinton beat Donald Trump 48% to 46%.
So the least popular president goes from losing the popular vote to Hillary by two points in 2016 to winning a rematch by three points today? After being attacked 24-hours a day by the left-wing media for well over a year, these adults, many of whom aren't that thrilled with Trump, still prefer him over Hillary.
Moreover, the Post poll found that the vast majority of Trump voters are -- 96% -- sticking with him in spite of all the negative media.
Here's another bit of fake news. According to the Post, 58% of adults say that Trump "does not understand the problems of people like them." But what the Post failed to explain is that even larger majorities say the GOP (62%) and the Democrat Party (67%) do not understand the problems of people like them.
The obvious conclusion is that the public is clearly dissatisfied with the state of our politics. But more people think Donald Trump understands them better than do either of the two political parties.
If you ignore the headlines and take the time to delve into the raw data, which we did, the news isn't all that bad for President Trump. And that is just one reason why so many loyal readers appreciate this daily report. No fake news here. Just the facts!
The Battle Over Borders
Congress is facing a Friday deadline to pass key spending bills to fund the government. If they don't approve these appropriations bills, we are headed toward another temporary government shutdown on April 28th.
Listening to the media, you'd think widows and orphans were going to starve if the government shuts down. None of the talking heads ever tell viewers that the government has shut down 18 times since 1976.
But here's the real reason it could happen Friday -- Senate progressives are unwilling to put up even $1 dollar to fund President Trump's border wall. President Trump's message to left-wing senators should be what Barack Obama told conservatives in 2009: "I won."
If the government is shut down, it is hard to imagine an issue more damaging to the left. I can imagine Trump going on national television saying something like this:
"Senate progressives are so committed to the radical idea of open borders, meaning no borders really, that they would rather shut down the government than secure our borders. Their open borders ideology has allowed vicious MS-13 gang members, and who knows who else, to walk into the country and threaten our children with drugs and violence. If it takes a government shutdown to draw attention to the issue of border security, so be it."
March For Science?
As you know, there were "non-partisan" March for Science demonstrations in many U.S. cities over the weekend, including here in Washington, D.C. Of course, they really weren't non-partisan.
They were thinly-veiled anti-Trump, anti-conservative gatherings. Some of these same folks were in Washington after the inauguration marching around town with "vagina hats" on their heads. Don't ask.
I can say with certainty that the crowd was selective in its love of science. For example, I saw no signs defending two scientific truths that the left rejects: Life begins at conception and there are only two genders.
Can someone please give these "geniuses" a biology textbook?
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. It is called "Yom Hashoah Ve Hagevurah" -- Day of the Holocaust and the Heroism. It is a day of reflection on the unthinkable, remembering that Adolf Hitler and his allies murdered six million Jews, one-third of the world's Jewish population.
After such horrors, it is hard to imagine that such evil could ever occur again. But today the lessons of the Holocaust are fading. Sadly, the Washington Post tells us that the new "hotbed of anti-Semitism isn't a foreign country. It's U.S. college campuses."
What is the explanation for that? Are there suddenly influxes of skinheads and far-right groups on American university campuses? Of course not.
American academia is dominated by the left. It controls expression on hundreds of campuses. Speech seen as intolerant is often silenced before the speaker even speaks. Except for anti-Semitic speech, which, sadly, many of these left-wing groups, along with growing Muslim student organizations, are embracing.
But there is good news. Millions of Christians are standing with the Jewish people. Together, we will defend Judeo-Christian civilization and fight persecution whatever its source. NEVER AGAIN!
Goodbye, Kate
Kate O'Beirne, an old friend, passed away yesterday from lung cancer. After leaving the Reagan Administration, Kate joined the Heritage Foundation, eventually serving as vice president of government relations. She was also a columnist for National Review and president of the National Review Institute. In addition, O'Beirne appeared on several cable talk shows.
As a committed Catholic, Kate was staunchly pro-life and a fearless opponent of left-wing feminism. Rush Limbaugh called her one of the godmothers of modern conservatism. Her courageous conservatism, her wit and wisdom will be deeply missed.