NPR: Majority Of Americans See Trump's First Year As A Failure

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds that by a 53-to-40-percent margin, Americans deemed Trump's first year a failure. And by an almost 2-to-1 margin (61 to 32 percent), Americans said they believe Trump has divided the country since his election.

Americans give Trump relatively positive marks on his handling of ISIS and the state of the economy — no small things. But on just about every other issue, they disapprove of his handling of them or they think things have gotten worse — from their views of the tax plan to the state of race relations and women's rights to immigration, health care, the deficit and foreign policy, including his approach to North Korea. Seven-in-10 Americans are now concerned about the possibility of war breaking out with the rogue nuclear nation.

"The first-year grades for Trump are not good," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. "He remains with his base intact and not much else. People remain doubtful in the institutions of our government, doubtful in how he's communicating things and how he's handling things. It's not a pretty picture for the president after the first year."

A majority of Americans continue to disapprove of the job Trump is doing overall (53 percent), think the country is headed in the wrong direction (57 percent), overwhelmingly believe his policies are directed toward helping the wealthy (60 percent) as opposed to the middle class (25 percent) — and see his use of Twitter as a risky way to communicate (78 percent) that isn't sending the right message.



MORE:
https://www.npr.org/2018/01/18/578639915/majority-of-americans-see-trumps-first-year-as-a-failure

The Rude Pundit writes: Another Pro-Trump Letter to the New York Times

1/17/2018
Another Pro-Trump Letter to the New York Times
(The New York Times has published an entire page of pro-Donald Trump letters to the editor because, apparently, a story every other week about Trump voters isn't enough. Here's one they probably wouldn't publish.)

Dear Editor,

Every morning, I awake from my oxy coma and thank Jesus for Donald Trump. I get up from the back of the 1987 Cutlass Supreme where I slept. It's broken down in a ditch just a mile or two from my mobile home that got repossessed. I stretch as best I can, what with this back problem from working in the coal mines across the state line in Kentucky, and I am glad that America is great again. Or it's on its way because Mr. Donald Trump is our president. I pop one of the two last oxy I've got, take a leak in the ditch, and grab my jacket before walking into town.

Because it's already noon by the time I get to Rogersville, and I know I'm gonna need to score soon, I go over to the post office to see if they've got my Social Security disability check. While I'm there, I salute a man with a MAGA hat and tell him, "God bless my president!" I'm not sure he can understand me because I lost most of my teeth, and I don't think I say the words so good anymore. But he smiles, and that's enough for me. I could sure use a dentist, but I'll just have to wait until the mobile dental clinic shows up in these parts. They come around about once a year, and the line is usually a couple of days long, but I know that it's worth it because I don't want no free doctors from the government. I'm fine with free doctors from a Christian charity, though.

I head over to the meat and three place where I can get a square meal and plenty to take home for just six bucks, and it's where Chet likes to meet because he's paid off the owner. Chet is always happy to see me on Social Security day. If he's in a good mood, he'll even buy my lunch. I walk in to Shelby's restaurant, and Fox News is on the TV. They're talking about how the liberals want more immigrants to come to America. Fuck that shit. Tell them Mexicans to just go on back and take their little brown children with 'em. I don't want no rapists and drug dealers here. If I could afford a gun, I'd go down to the border and shoot a couple of 'em to keep 'em out of here.

Chet comes in and sits opposite me. I've got a plate of fried chicken, corn, potatoes, and french fries. Chet tells me he's got some He-Man if I want to kick it up from the oxy. It costs more than the oxy, so I tell him that I'll just stick to what I know. I sign the back of my Social Security check and hand it over to him. He gives me back two full prescription bottles and a few hundred dollars. "Bank of Chet," I always tell him. "Better than a toaster." I ask him what he's gonna do with his Trump tax cut. Chet stares at me for a minute and starts laughing. He tells me he'll see me next week.

I pop a couple of the oxy because my back is just killing me. I turn to the TV and see them talking about coal mining jobs and how President Trump is bringing them back. I'd go back to the Perry #1 mine if they reopened it. I'm just waiting for the call. I'd take the regular income, back or no back. Maybe I'd get to see my kids again then. Maybe even get Willow to talk to me, if she doesn't try to steal my oxy like before.

As I walk back to the Cutlass to lay down for a while before I head out to the bar, I think about how much Donald Trump has done for me. How he has given me my country back. How he is bringing jobs back. How he cares about my problems as a working class man. How I can say, "Merry Christmas" again. How he talks tough to all those Muslims and Jews and fags. How he showed that bitch Hillary what for. And, mostly, how he ain't a goddamn nigger.

God bless him and his family. And God bless America.

Sincerely,

Maddox J. Maddox

Rachel Maddow Starts 2018 With Commanding Lead Over Sean Hannity and Fox News

Washington politics in 2018 so far promises to be a rollicking ride with unrelenting foolishness and embarrassments from the White House. In a few short days Donald Trump has managed to insult El Salvador, Haiti, and the entire continent of Africa. His former campaign chair and White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was quoted accusing the President’s son of treason, and then was subpoenaed by special counsel Robert Mueller. And growing concerns about Trump’s mental fitness spurred him to laughably declare that he’s a “stable genius.”

However, with regard to the Nielsen ratings of the cable news networks, the new year is starting off pretty much the way last year concluded. Rachel Maddow continues to surge with poignant reporting on subjects that America's news consumers are clearly interested in. She is dominating her competition on Fox News and providing a boost to her colleagues on MSNBC. Meanwhile, Fox News is more often finding itself in the unfamiliar position of an also ran with reporting that is becoming more deranged everyday. They appear to be adopting the editorial lunacy of Alex Jones' Infowars and other right-wing fringe outlets that specialize in conspiracy theories and propaganda.

In the first two weeks of 2018, Maddow has won every single night in the key 25-54 year old demographic. She's consistently beating Sean Hannity and every other cable news program in primetime. She has a twenty-one percent average margin of victory over Hannity (686K vs. 568K) for the first half of January. Maddow is also topping Hannity in total viewers by about eight percent (3.1M vs. 2.9M), driven by victories in seven out of nine nights.

MSNBC is seeing its schedule score additional victories with the programs that follow Maddow. The 11th Hour with Brian Williams beat Fox News @Night with Shannon Bream every night. The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell beat Fox's Laura Ingraham Angle eight out of nine nights. And MSNBC took the whole primetime block four nights during the period.


MORE:
https://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?tag=lawrence-odonnell

Trump Sweeps "Fake News Awards"

"DACA Analogy"

"Girther"

World's Approval of U.S. Leadership Drops to New Low - From 48% in 2016 to 30%

World's Approval of U.S. Leadership Drops to New Low
by Julie Ray
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Median approval of U.S. leadership is 30%, down from 48% in 2016
U.S. approval dropped substantially in 65 countries and areas
Germany's leadership now tops that of U.S., China and Russia

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One year into Donald Trump's presidency, the image of U.S. leadership is weaker worldwide than it was under his two predecessors. Median approval of U.S. leadership across 134 countries and areas stands at a new low of 30%, according to a new Gallup report.

The most recent approval rating, based on Gallup World Poll surveys conducted between March and November last year, is down 18 percentage points from the 48% approval rating in the last year of President Barack Obama's administration, and is four points lower than the previous low of 34% in the last year of President George W. Bush's administration.




MORE:
http://news.gallup.com/poll/225761/world-approval-leadership-drops-new-low.aspx
https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/953978277227565056

FAKE NEWS Awards..............Annnnd the GOP site is crashed

"Send Me Your Norwegians."

Steve Bannon made one conspicuous slip up in his closed-door hearing on Tuesday

Jonathan Swan: “Steve Bannon made one conspicuous slip up in his closed-door hearing on Tuesday with the House Intelligence Committee… Bannon admitted that he’d had conversations with Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and legal spokesman Mark Corallo about Don Junior’s infamous meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower in June 2016.”

“Bannon immediately realized he’d slipped up and disclosed conversations he wasn’t supposed to discuss, because they happened while he was chief strategist in the White House. Throughout the rest of the session, committee members — in particular Republican Trey Gowdy and Democrat Adam Schiff — hammered Bannon over the fact that he’d mentioned those conversations but refused to discuss anything else about his time in the White House.”

“Bannon’s lawyer, Bill Burck, told the committee in his opening remarks that Bannon wouldn’t answer any questions that relate to his time inside the White House or during the presidential transition. The committee caught him in the slip-up inside the first 90 minutes.”


https://politicalwire.com/2018/01/17/bannon-told-congress/
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/953719845819965441

Greg Sargent
✔
@ThePlumLineGS
It's now being reported that Bannon slipped up and disclosed that he'd held internal communications about the Trump Tower meeting.

This will be of interest to Mueller.

Here's why, according to the senior counsel on Ken Starr's



investigation:http://wapo.st/2mPh2mChttps://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/953721109991559168