Posted on 08/19/2017 9:52:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The president’s job approval has inched upwards since Charlottesville, and a surprisingly high number of voters agree with his provocative rhetoric.
The reaction after President Trump’s tepid response to the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville was swift and severe. One broadcast network devoted its entire nightly newscast to Trump’s chaotic press conference on Tuesday. The next day, The Economist portrayed the president screaming into a bullhorn shaped as a Ku Klux Klan hood on its cover—with other news magazines following suit. Many Republican officials have denounced the president in the sharpest terms since his election. Business leaders resigned from the president’s corporate councils in protest.
But in a repeat of myriad Trump campaign controversies, voters didn’t share the same level of outrage as the elites. The latest wave of polling shows that the president’s overall job-approval rating has inched upwards since the controversy, that a sizable majority of Americans support maintaining Confederate memorials instead of tearing them down, and that a notable minority agree with the president’s use of “both sides” language during Tuesday’s press conference.
The polling is simply the latest illustration of the gaping divide between elite opinion and the views of average Americans. It’s clear many voters don’t share the same sense of alarm about Trump as political leaders and journalists. Judging by the news coverage, you’d reasonably expect the president to have alienated the entire country with his insensitive, racially charged rhetoric. In reality, public opinion is splitting along predictable partisan lines—with Trump’s view that Confederate monuments should be preserved getting a surprising degree of bipartisan support.
Former Democratic Rep. Steve Israel put it best, writing in Newsday this week about a recent conversation he overheard at a Long Island diner. “Now they’re making a big deal about statues? Who cares about statues!” Israel recounted hearing. It’s why top Democratic strategists have urged their candidates not to talk to voters about impeachment or dwell on the hot-button issues driving media coverage.
The most surprising finding from the latest polling is how many Americans agree with Trump on the issue of Confederate statues. A PBS/NPR/Marist poll conducted after the Charlottesville protests found a whopping 62 percent of registered voters preferring to maintain Confederate memorials as a “historical symbol” over removing them “because they’re offensive to some people.” The issue united Republicans (86 percent approved maintaining them and only 6 percent disapproved), while dividing Democrats (47 percent approved removing them and 44 percent disapproved). Even a 44 percent plurality of African-Americans didn’t want to tear them down.
The results show there’s a method to Trump’s madness, no matter how divisive and destabilizing his rhetoric may sound to elites. He leaned into the Confederate controversy on Thursday by tweeting his support for “beautiful” monuments. Democrats responded with outrage, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi even calling for the removal of Confederate statues from the Capitol. All of a sudden, Democrats could find themselves exposed politically for their overreach.
Trump’s decision to blame “both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville—apparently alluding to the radical “antifa” counterprotesters clashing with neo-Nazi demonstrators—also got a surprising degree of support. An automated SurveyMonkey poll found 43 percent of Americans agreeing with Trump, while 53 percent disagreed. That’s hardly an endorsement, but it was far more favorable than the outraged reaction the press conference received from journalists and leaders of his own party. In fact, the number of rank-and-file Republicans agreeing with Trump on his Charlottesville remarks (87 percent) is a bit higher than the number of Republicans who typically approve of Trump’s job performance (which usually hovers around 80 percent).
Finally, Trump’s overall job-approval rating is virtually unchanged in the aftermath of Charlottesville. Quinnipiac’s new survey found it at 39 percent, up 6 points since its last survey earlier in the month. Gallup now pegs his approval at 38 percent, inching upwards from his all-time low of 34 percent just before the Charlottesville protests. The aforementioned PBS/Marist poll also found his job approval at 38 percent. For context, that’s the same percentage who viewed him favorably on Election Day before he won the presidency.
The biggest divide in American society is between the elites who once reliably shaped public opinion and less-privileged voters, who are increasingly tuning out mainstream sources in favor of self-selected information networks. It’s a sobering reminder that the divisions in America are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon, and will probably worsen.
But it’s also a reminder that to have any chance at uniting the country, political leaders need to do their best at persuading a skeptical public of the rightness of their views—and not mock, shame, or dismiss people who hold different opinions. When the elites are so at odds with the public on issues of great consequence, a dose of humility may be in order.
Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Paul Ryan, Sen. Jeff Flake, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ben Sasse, Ed Gillespie, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Cory Gardner, Sen. Jerry Moran, John Kasich, Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Leonard Lance, Yeb Bush, Rep. Will Hurd, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Dean Heller, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Senator Todd Young, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ...
Funny how the word “provocative” means different things to different people.
Nowadays, mentioning that Free Speech is a God Given Human Right is deemed “provocative”.
Imagine if President Trump reminded people of the famous centuries old saying, I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Funny how the word “provocative” means different things to different people.
Nowadays, mentioning that Free Speech is a God Given Human Right is deemed “provocative”.
Imagine if President Trump reminded people of the famous centuries old saying, I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
The GOPe had better be aware. They are playing with fire. They had better start supporting the trump agenda.
This lifelong Republican will do everything I can to get Flake OUT.
The GOPe had better be aware. They are playing with fire. They had better start supporting the trump agenda.
Actually, they are getting ready to do just the opposite. Push their own agenda on Obamacare, tax reform and the budget.
That is the real reason why the tried to wound POTUS over Charlottesville, IMO.
The president’s job approval has inched upwards since Charlottesville, and a surprisingly high number of voters agree with his provocative rhetoric.
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Well today he back tracked a bit and praised the people who showed up in force in Boston to protest against “hate and bigotry” which I assume means the other side who was holding a free speech rally was filled with hate and bigotry.
Or maybe the rule of law at least.
Trump’s decision to blame “both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville—apparently alluding to the radical “antifa” counterprotesters clashing with neo-Nazi demonstrators—also got a surprising degree of support. An automated SurveyMonkey poll found 43 percent of Americans agreeing with Trump, while 53 percent disagreed. That’s hardly an endorsement, but it was far more favorable than the outraged reaction the press conference received from journalists and leaders of his own party. In fact, the number of rank-and-file Republicans agreeing with Trump on his Charlottesville remarks (87 percent) is a bit higher than the number of Republicans who typically approve of Trump’s job performance (which usually hovers around 80 percent).
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And the survey monkey poll was online and I can’t find the break down of Dems vs Rep.
And the NPR Marist poll over sampled dems by 10%.
I’m sure way more American’s agreed with the ‘both sides’ comment than the Survey Monkey poll indicates.
I'm wondering how anyone would know since they never got the chance to speak. ?
And that’s pretty #d up.
...which I assume means...Puting words in other peoples mouths might be your mistake.
I resent the use of the word “elite” to describe the small minded group thinkers in the press and other liberal enclaves. Such people are not elite, i.e. “superior.”
Wrong! Political leaders need to learn that they must respect and reflect the opinions of the public. The Constitution starts with "We the People," not "We the Political Elites."
People don’t know that Trump maintained the General Sherman monument at 59th Street in NYC for many years (he may still do so). From his comments about the Confederate statues, I heard him mention how beautiful some are (just think of Richmond’s Monument Ave). I think we’ve discovered that Trump has an eye for beautiful statuary that stands apart from his political comments on the issue.
You are correct. And given the centralized, totalitarian system imposed on us now, we have lost federalism and have a winner takes all approach. The derangement of what was once a federal government and the degenerate influences of cultural Marxists make violent resolution inevitable.
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