Our weekly White House Report Card is the last of the 2020 election, and in it, our grader Jed Babbin gives President Trump a solid A for his nonstop, high-energy effort to win a second term despite the coronavirus crisis, a brick wall from House Democrats and a liberal media, including some who have even donated to opponent Joe Biden.
The polls are dueling in their race predictions, so it is hard to figure out what will happen on Tuesday. Both sides expect the counting to continue past Election Day due to confusing Supreme Court decisions letting some, but not all, states to count into the week.
Grader Jed Babbin gave the president an A. His partner, pollster John Zogby, was in a 24-hour dash to get his latest survey on the race out, so he was unavailable. He did just release his Forbes Under 30 Voter Survey, powered by John Zogby Strategies, and it found that younger voters back Biden 59%-37%.
Jed Babbin
Grade A
Trump had a very good week with the swearing in of a new conservative U.S. Supreme Court justice, the reported economic boom, and his exceptionally hard work on the campaign trail.
Ronald Reagan once joked, “I’ve heard that hard work never killed anybody, but why take that chance?” Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are taking that chance, traveling all across the nation, working overtime at getting votes.
The confirmation and swearing in of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court may be Trump’s crowning achievement whether he wins or loses on Tuesday. Barrett clearly tips the balance of the court to the conservative side, meaning that even if a Biden administration (led by Sen. Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) tries to impose all sorts of outrageous unconstitutional measures, the Supreme Court will probably strike them down.
The economy grew at a record rate in the third quarter of 2020 — after the lockdowns expired. Trump’s promise of a “V-shaped” recovery seems to be coming true.
The huge national turnout in early voting is hyped by the media as an effort to ensure Biden’s victory. But as Rush Limbaugh said last week, if it’s really a surge of Trump voters fed up with the media and Biden’s apparent involvement in his son’s China and Ukraine corruption schemes, it could just as easily be a portent of another Trump win. Lightning may strike twice.
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @TheJohnZogby
