With fast action on replacing the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Trump could cement his legacy for generations even if he loses reelection, according to Democratic pollster John Zogby.
For our weekly White House Report Card, Zogby focused on the impact of the Friday death of Ginsburg and what it means for the president.
“It now strangely matters less if he loses both his reelection and the GOP Senate. His Supreme Court now lives much longer,” said Zogby, who gave the president a “C+” for the week.
President @realDonaldTrump on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “She led an amazing life…She was an amazing woman, whether you agreed or not…I am sad to hear that.”#RIPRBG pic.twitter.com/VTqNfohK8X
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 19, 2020
And as for Democrats fighting swift confirmation of Trump’s eventual choice, Zogby noted that the rules put in play by Democrats give the Republicans the upper hand. “Democrats in the Senate will fight hard, but they apparently will be victims of their own rules changes when they controlled the majority,” he said.
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin graded Trump a “B+” and highlighted the president’s success in the peace deal between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
John Zogby
Grade C+
Our lesson today revolves around the term “deus ex machina,” which means when something unexpected or implausible happens and positively affects someone’s life. The someone is Trump, and the “deus” is the sad death of a giant in history, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Trump has been hurting with only a little over six weeks to go before Election Day. He has lost his edge on handling the economy and is widely disapproved of his handling of the pandemic. He is behind in his race for reelection nationally and in key battleground states. While achieving a disputable breakthrough in the Middle East, which could excite evangelicals and even some liberal Jewish voters, the president is still mired in the low-to-middle 40s in his polling.
The death of Ginsburg is a two-edged sword for him. On the one hand, it will truly energize liberals and progressives to come out to vote for Joe Biden. On the other hand, it gives the president the opportunity to influence the U.S. Supreme Court for a generation or more — something only a few presidents have had the chance to do. It now strangely matters less if he loses both his reelection and the GOP Senate. His Supreme Court now lives much longer. Democrats in the Senate will fight hard, but they apparently will be victims of their own rules changes when they controlled the majority. Next week’s lesson revolves around the phrase ‘”It Don’t Come Easy,” by Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
Jed Babbin
Grade B+
Trump had a very good week for several reasons ranging from the Democrats playing catch-up on the law and order aspects of the campaign to the historic signing of Middle East peace agreements (the Abraham Accords) at the White House on Tuesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after more than 100 days of violent riots across America causing billions of dollars in damage, finally (and mildly) came out against looting and violence. She’s obviously worried that Trump’s law and order message is having a considerable impact across the country. Trump continued with that message and returned to his economic success as well. All of that showed up in rising poll numbers for Trump.
The Abraham Accords, signed by the United States, Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE on Tuesday, may begin a realignment of the Middle East, more significant than anything that has happened since Israel’s founding. The Arab nations, all Sunni Muslims, are far more scared of Shiite Iran than any imaginary threat Israel poses to their religion. (Sudan may soon follow, along with Kuwait and Oman.) If this realignment continues, Iran will only find supporters in Russia, China, and the weakest nations of Europe.
Meanwhile, the election is shaping up as the “COVID-19” election. Biden says he’ll impose a mask requirement everywhere on federal property and ask governors to do the same. Both he and Sen. Kamala Harris are trash-talking the credibility of the vaccines being developed, which is nothing short of crazy. Which is consistent with the two confusing the “Biden-Harris” ticket with the possibility of what Harris called the “Harris administration” with Biden as president. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.
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
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
