2017 - Page 48 of 105

GOP Risking 2018 on Trump Play

June 15, 2017 Buck Banks

“Scandals have typically operated as a cloud over a president’s agenda. But the Russia-related legal challenges swirling around President Trump are functioning more like a cloak for his joint agenda with congressional Republicans. That difference captures the GOP’s decision to govern in a manner aimed almost entirely at stoking their hard-core base—a critical calculation that could determine their fate in the 2018 election, and possibly the 2020 contest, as well.”

“A stunning 50% of the CEOs, business execs, government officials and academics surveyed at the annual Yale CEO Summit give Trump an ‘F’ for his first 130 days in office,” CNN reports.

— Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in a leaked recording mocking President Trump, “the latest awkward episode between two allied leaders whose relationship had gotten off to a rocky start,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Two-Thirds Say Trump Doesn’t Respect Democratic Traditions

June 15, 2017 Buck Banks

65%

A new AP-NORC poll finds 65% of Americans think President Trump “doesn’t have much respect for the country’s democratic institutions and traditions or has none at all. Just a third of Americans, or 34%, thinks he has a great deal or even a fair amount of respect for them.” Overall, 64% disapprove and just 35% approve of his job performance.

Republicans Less Satisfied with Country’s Direction

June 15, 2017 Buck Banks

41%

A new Gallup survey finds just 41% of Republicans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., down 17 percentage points since last month. Overall U.S. satisfaction dropped to 24%, down seven percentage points.

Rand Paul and the Second Amendment

June 15, 2017 Buck Banks

“Why do we have a Second Amendment? It’s not to shoot deer. It’s to shoot at the government when it becomes tyrannical!”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on Twitter, June 23, 2016.

Christie Is Least-Popular N.J. Governor Ever

June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 Buck Banks

15%

A new Quinnipiac poll finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) now has the lowest approval rating of any New Jersey governor in recorded history, 15% to 81%.

The GOP says it’s your right as an American —
If you want to own an assault rifle, you can.
But if GOPers accepted cash from the NRA,
They are responsible for what happened today,
When the hunting season opened on Republicans.

Apparently There Are Two Kinds of Government Shutdown

June 14, 2017 Buck Banks

“At times there could be a good shutdown, at times there may not be a good shutdown. There could be reasons at various times why that is the right outcome.”

— Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, quoted by The Hill, when asked about President Trump’s tweet earlier this year that “Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!”

Most Trump Real Estate Deals to Buyers Who Shield Their Identity

June 14, 2017 Buck Banks

79%

“Since President Trump won the Republican nomination, the majority of his companies’ real estate sales are to secretive shell companies that obscure the buyers’ identities,” a USA Today investigation has found. “Over the last 12 months, about 70% of buyers of Trump properties were limited liability companies – corporate entities that allow people to purchase property without revealing all of the owners’ names. That compares with about 4% of buyers in the two years before.”

— Ron Brownstein

50%

“A stunning 50% of the CEOs, business execs, government officials and academics surveyed at the annual Yale CEO Summit give Trump an ‘F’ for his first 130 days in office,” CNN reports.

“It was beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever. The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much. We are winning like we have never won before.”

— Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in a leaked recording mocking President Trump, “the latest awkward episode between two allied leaders whose relationship had gotten off to a rocky start,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

65%

41%

A new Gallup survey finds just 41% of Republicans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., down 17 percentage points since last month. Overall U.S. satisfaction dropped to 24%, down seven percentage points.

“Why do we have a Second Amendment? It’s not to shoot deer. It’s to shoot at the government when it becomes tyrannical!”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on Twitter, June 23, 2016.

15%

A new Quinnipiac poll finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) now has the lowest approval rating of any New Jersey governor in recorded history, 15% to 81%.

“At times there could be a good shutdown, at times there may not be a good shutdown. There could be reasons at various times why that is the right outcome.”

— Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, quoted by The Hill, when asked about President Trump’s tweet earlier this year that “Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!”

79%

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.