Month: April 2020

Trump’s Approval Bump Is Already Over

Buck Banks

43%


Gallup: “As President Trump works to contain the damage from the novel coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., the rally in support he enjoyed as the nation entered a virtual lockdown has faded. His job approval rating, now 43%, has slipped six percentage points since mid-March when he earned 49% approval, which tied his personal best. ….The six-point decline in the president’s approval rating is the sharpest drop Gallup has recorded for the Trump presidency so far, largely because Trump’s ratings have been highly stable and have yet to reach the historical average for presidents (back to 1945) of 53%.”

Biden Doesn’t Grok Trump

Buck Banks

“Trying to figure out this man is sort of above my pay grade. I mean, I don’t get it. It seems to always be about him. Everything is about him or his political fortunes. Like this idea of making sure we delay getting the checks out till his name could be on them. For God’s sake, people are scared to death. They’re struggling just to keep their head not above water but just every once in a while above water.”

— Joe Biden, in an interview on Morning Joe, when asked about President Trump’s daily briefings.

Graham’s Challenger Out-Raises Him

Buck Banks

$7.3 million

Democratic Senate candidate Jamie Harrison outpaced Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in fundraising during the first three months of 2020, The Hill reports.“Harrison raised more than $7.3 million in the first quarter of the year… Graham’s campaign also surpassed previous fundraising highs and raised $5.6 million, bringing the senator’s total cash on-hand to $12.8 million…. Harrison has a little more than $8 million on-hand.”

So This is What Living In a Failed State is Like

Trish
Marc Maron

I know most of you realize, I don’t need to tell you, that obviously we are living in a failed state.

And that our government’s reaction to this was too late, and that it was not enough. and a lot of what the federal government is supposed to do they’re not doing.

Because over the last few years — but certainly over the last 20 — whenever possible, Republicans tried to dismantle the government, everything they see as non-essential. And some of that being what was needed to respond to this properly.

So this is the goal: the failed state. This is the Republican vision. Let private enterprise take care of it. Great. So now we have people who need ventilators and masks and there’s a bidding war going on over who is going to make a profit on those items and which states they’re going to sell to. It’s all working out.

— Marc Maron, speaking on his WTF podcast about the COVID-19 pandemic, the death of Adam Schlesinger from the disease, the consequences and reality of running government like a business, and the catastrophe that is the Trump administration.