In this week’s White House Report Card, President Trump is seeing the start of a turnaround in some approval polls as he is resuming his briefings on the coronavirus crisis with a touch more humility in his reviews.
The week was significant because during one of those briefings, he made the shocking announcement that he was canceling the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, because of the virus spread in that state and also because he raised his criticism of China.
Still, our graders were unimpressed for the week. Conservative analyst Jed Babbin gave the president a D-, and Democratic pollster John Zogby also graded a D- on the basis of poor trust ratings for the president.
Jed Babbin
Grade D-
It was a very busy week, but not necessarily a good one for Trump with surging federal law enforcement officers into cities run by Democrats, actions on China, illegal immigrants and the census, and a resumption of his personal briefings on the coronavirus pandemic.
From Portland, Oregon, to Chicago to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Trump is sending federal law enforcement officers to quell the violence there despite the mayors of those cities suing against his actions. The anti-cop, anti-Trump, anti-civilization “protests” and riots in many cities and towns seem to be evidence of a national nervous breakdown. Trump (who is a boss, not a leader) is unable to cope with the unrest, the virus crisis, or what Congress does or doesn’t do.
#Trump‘s daily approval numbers for the week: Mon 46% – Tue 48% – Wed 49% – Thurs 49% – Fri 49%… https://t.co/mazBCW77nY pic.twitter.com/VdM8ycofr8
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) July 24, 2020
Trump’s resumption of the coronavirus briefings served only to him some media air time. The crisis is getting worse, with large numbers of infections and deaths reported in many states. Trump recognized the problem by canceling the Jacksonville, Florida, portion of the Republican National Convention. His big acceptance speech will be delivered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the original convention site.
Another stimulus bill is being crafted in Congress. We know that it won’t contain Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut because Republicans have already cut that part out. How much more money will be poured out isn’t at all clear.
Trump signed an executive order requiring that illegal immigrants not be counted for the purposes of congressional redistricting. The order is sure to be challenged in court.
And he ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, which had been a hotbed of Chinese espionage against the United States. That prompted China to retaliate by ordering the closure of a U.S. consulate in Chengdu.
John Zogby
Grade D-
Trump did an about-face on wearing face masks this week. Polls show now that only 31% of people in the U.S. trust him to tell the truth. That is 6 points down from the 37% who trusted him four years ago. Fortunately for him, then, that only 36% trusted his opponent.
Trust is like virginity — once you lose it, it’s hard to get it back. But I give him credit for being flexible, sort of. …
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
