In this week’s White House Report Card, President Trump is getting international credit for helping work out a new friendship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, potentially opening the door for more Arab nations to work with Israel.
It was also a week that kicked off the fall election when Democrat Joe Biden picked California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate in advance of next week’s virtual Democratic National Convention. In a couple of statements, Trump hit the choice and didn’t push back on a Newsweek columnist’s suggestion that she might not be eligible to run because her Jamaican and Indian parents were born outside the United States.
pic.twitter.com/GjE7vZd3SA https://t.co/1Bcbpr1D9d
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020
Our grader, Democratic pollster John Zogby, said it was a mixed week, and he graded a C-. He addressed the Harris pick and its impact on the race in his weekly podcast.
John Zogby
Grade C-
The United Arab Emirates and Israel announced a warming of relations this week. In exchange for at least a temporary hold on Israeli annexation of West Bank territory, the UAE will open up diplomatic relations along with technology and trade talks.
This could be momentous, for better or worse, as it changes the discussion in the Middle East from a focus on the rights of Palestinians to a major alliance to combat Iran. The biggest loser in the deal will be the Palestinians. Nonetheless, the Trump administration hailed this as a major diplomatic deal, and for now, it is hard to argue with that.
President Trump on claims that :Kamala Harris isn’t eligible to run for Vice President because she’s an anchor baby: “I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements…I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out.” pic.twitter.com/H887X43GJK
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 13, 2020
On the other hand, the notable event of the week was Trump not rejecting a crazy story about Oakland-born Harris not being eligible to run for vice president as he again shows his worst face.
Only one new poll out since the Biden-Harris ticket was declared, and so far, the president is losing ground.
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
Conservative grader Jed Babbin, a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush, was not available this week.
