Trump approval down to 33%, Republican Support is starting to crumble.

[akris15]

I can't even put into words how disgusted I am with this administration. I just... I'm sorry, what did you say, Dr. Grant?



Me too, buddy. Me too.

That is such a well done clip. Saved and thanks for this!

[Adam Jensen]

No I mean GWB.

Oh, okay. I misread it.

[Strangewayes]

I bet the guys in this thread were all over Obamas Presidency too right? I'm sure they had a thread critiquing every minor policy decision he made on the hour. With running commentary!

lol no they never did that.

Why? Because they never had the media whip them into a frenzy telling them how Obama could trip over and hit the launch nukes button at any moment. lol

[Breccia]

I bet the guys in this thread were all over Obamas Presidency too right?

Whataboutism is not a valid defense. Also, if memory serves, people chose to invent things to attack Obama such as "he is not American and a Muslim", so your feigned indignation rings hollow and sad.

P.S. Obama's popularity was never as low as Trump's is right now. I don't think "every minor policy" is to blame here. I think what's to blame here, is Trump's proven words and actions.

[Jakexe]

I bet the guys in this thread were all over Obamas Presidency too right? I'm sure they had a thread critiquing every minor policy decision he made on the hour. With running commentary!

lol no they never did that.

Why? Because they never had the media whip them into a frenzy telling them how Obama could trip over and hit the launch nukes button at any moment. lol

Sad. Sad. Sad.

Trump is a terrible president. Obama wasn't. Let that sink in deep, you know it to be true.

[Breccia]

Trump allies say he needs a GOP scalp

Republicans on Capitol Hill lament President Trump's aggressive behavior toward them, but some people in the president's orbit are urging him to up the ante even further.

They say that, far from making nice, Trump needs to instill fear so that lawmakers do not feel at liberty to thwart him.

“Most members of Congress are arrogant, and until a scalp is actually taken they are going to continue to be defiant,” longtime Trump friend Roger Stone told The Hill. “All he needs to do is punish one incumbent and I think you’d see a sea-change.”

Advice like Stone’s feeds the president's instincts to hit back hard against those whom he believes have wronged him: a list that at present appears to include Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as well as GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.).
Trump’s biggest defeat to date, on his attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act, came at the hands of McCain and Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska.), who joined Democrats to sink a Senate bill.

Other Trump loyalists join Stone in arguing that the president should neither forgive nor forget.

“He is 100 percent correct to go after McCain, Flake, Murkowksi,” said Sam Nunberg, who worked as an aide to Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Nunberg also expressed the hope that Trump would be able to engineer the defeat of Collins in a GOP primary if she sought to become Maine’s governor.

But Nunberg drew a distinction between those senators who have been critical of Trump and the GOP leadership on Capitol Hill.

“I do think it is counterproductive for him to have a strained relationship with Leader McConnell,” Nunberg said, citing both the danger to Trump’s legislative agenda and the widespread support McConnell enjoys among his colleagues.

An interesting premise, but arguably months too late. Trump no longer has a single enemy to go after, and just as bad, doesn't seem to have the stamina to focus one person down DPS style. Quite frankly. I don't see how Trump can get a scalp before 2018. They're not scared of him.

- - - Updated - - -

Trump's low approval ratings set an unwanted record

Donald Trump started as the most unpopular new president in the history of modern polling. After seven months, things have only gotten worse.

Plunging into undesirably uncharted territory, Trump is setting records with his dismally low approval ratings, including the lowest mark ever for a president in his first year. In fact, with four months left in the year, Trump has already spent more time under 40 percent than any other first-year president.

At 34 percent, his current approval rating is worse than President Barack Obama's ever was.

Trump's early descent in the polls defies some longstanding patterns about how Americans view their president. Such plunges are often tied to external forces that the president only partially controls, such as a sluggish economy or an all-consuming international crisis. In Trump's case, the economy is humming and the foreign crises have been kept to a minimum.

Americans also tend to be optimistic about their new leaders, typically cutting them some slack during their early days in office. Not with Trump.

"Most presidents begin with a honeymoon period and then go down from that, and Trump had no honeymoon," said Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport.

It's a jarring juxtaposition for the reality TV star-turned-president who spent months on the campaign trail obsessing about his poll numbers and reading them to massive rally crowds while vowing that he'd win so much as president that Americans would get sick of it. Since he took office, the poll number recitations have stopped.

Trump is now viewed positively by only 37 percent of Americans, according to Gallup's most recent weekly estimate. (Obama's lowest weekly average never fell below 40 percent.) It's even lower - just 34 percent - in Gallup's shorter, three-day average, which includes more recent interviews but can also involve more random variation.

To be sure, approval ratings can fluctuate - sometimes dramatically. Some presidents have seen their positive reviews dip below 40 percent, only to recover strongly. Bill Clinton, whose rating fell to 37 percent in early June 1993 after policy stumbles, quickly gained ground. Later that same month, he climbed to 46 percent, and ended his eight years enjoying approval from 66 percent of the nation.

Trump has defied the trends before. But if history is a guide, his numbers don't bode well. Low approval ratings hamper a president's ability to push an agenda through Congress and make it more likely the president's party will lose seats in Congress in the midterm elections.

Scott de Marchi, who teaches political science at Duke University, says his research suggests approval ratings tend to affect whether a president can persuade Congress to do his or her bidding. That's primarily true with complex issues like tax reform, where Americans care about the outcome but may not have strongly formed opinions. In those cases, Americans are more likely to support whatever plan the president proposes if they broadly approve of the president himself.

"The problem with Trump is that on any area like the budget or tax policy or even health care, people need to be led to a position to support," de Marchi said.

Since Gallup began tracking presidential approval, four presidents - Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush - spent significant time below 40 percent during their first four years. Clinton's and Ronald Reagan's forays below the 40 percent mark also came during their first terms. But neither stayed there long.

Of those who spent at least a few months below 40 percent approval in a first term, only one - Truman - recovered enough to win re-election.

Still, several others reached lows at some point in their presidency that are worse than Trump's, including several who dropped below 30 percent.

Truman hit 22 percent in February 1952, during a drawn-out Korean War stalemate and accusations of corruption in his administration. Richard Nixon hit 24 percent at the height of the Watergate scandal just before his resignation in 1974. Carter bottomed out at 28 percent in the summer of 1979, amid that year's oil crisis.

Trump's average approval rating so far: Just 40 percent. That's even lower than the previous average low for a first-term president, 46 percent, set by Carter.

Trump likes to say he breaks records. Bolded for "be careful what you wish for".

[Seiklis]

Corker would be Dick Lugar level scalp for the party if Trump's guy (Joe Carr I think) could win the primary. Flake wasn't popular even before all this hit the fan

Murkowski and McCain are immune from anything Trump can do, not that McCain probably has to worry about another senate defense unfortunately

[Breccia]

In the ongoing effort to break all kinds of records, Trump creates a national monument shrink/removal plan in secret, both breaking a campaign promise to have a transparent administration (see also: TrumpCare) and also be a hypocrite (see also: Confederate statues).

[Strangewayes]

In the ongoing effort to break all kinds of records, Trump creates a national monument shrink/removal plan in secret, both breaking a campaign promise to have a transparent administration (see also: TrumpCare) and also be a hypocrite (see also: Confederate statues).

So how is this a secret if it's still in planning and we are reading about it?

- - - Updated - - -

Sad. Sad. Sad.

Trump is a terrible president. Obama wasn't. Let that sink in deep, you know it to be true.

It'd be nice if there was some objective comparison between Presidents on the Policy and Executive Orders level. But most people seem to just "not like" Trump.

[Orbitus]

So how is this a secret if it's still in planning and we are reading about it?

- - - Updated - - -



It'd be nice if there was some objective comparison between Presidents on the Policy and Executive Orders level. But most people seem to just "not like" Trump.

It's very simple, EVERY president, even Bush Jr, had policy, Trump does not. His policies aren't going through because he is fucking himself over.

[Breccia]

It's very simple, EVERY president, even Bush Jr, had policy, Trump does not. His policies aren't going through because he is fucking himself over.

To be fair, "Watch TV until angered by something, tweet about it and ask someone else to do it" is kind of a policy. In the same way going bankrupt only six times is kind of like being a successful businessman.

[LaserSharkDFB]

So how is this a secret if it's still in planning and we are reading about it?

President Trump had set Thursday as a deadline for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to submit recommendations to him for what areas of land and water protected by previous presidents as monuments should have their designations changed.

Zinke was expected to reveal his proposals publicly Thursday as well. But he did not, instead releasing a two-page summary of the process behind his considerations and telling the Associated Press that he’s recommending reductions in the size of an unspecified “handful” of national monuments.

If you have a plan and don't tell people what that plan is, that plan is secret.

[DarkTZeratul]

An interesting premise, but arguably months too late. Trump no longer has a single enemy to go after, and just as bad, doesn't seem to have the stamina to focus one person down DPS style. Quite frankly. I don't see how Trump can get a scalp before 2018. They're not scared of him.

I also feel like that would backfire spectacularly. If Trump directly goes after the GOP, they are going to destroy him.

[Breccia]

If Trump directly goes after the GOP, they are going to destroy him.

We are way past "if" by this stage.

[DarkTZeratul]

We are way past "if" by this stage.

I meant in the sense that the article suggests something beyond throwing a Twitter tantrum of empty threats.

[Breccia]

In Trump's White House, it's everyone for himself

Sebastian Gorka -- among the most loyal of Trump's staff to his Make America Great Again agenda -- is out.

At this point, it's astonishing that anyone is still working at the White House. In a few more months, the President may even have to do his own cooking.

Donald Trump has lost, among others, his chief strategist, his chief of staff and three directors of communications. Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, has chosen to publicly air his grievances towards Trump's Charlottesville comments, in which the President equated neo-Nazi marchers with those who protested them -- and yet stay in his job rather than resign.

It's an extraordinary test of the President's patience and authority. So what is going on?

Cohn's gambit is an insight into how the Trump White House works. As Politico implies, Trump governs with a kind of creative anarchy: He apparently likes to taunt people, play them off each other and keep them guessing.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered his resignation over the Russia affair and Trump criticized him openly, yet he ultimately kept his job. Steve Bannon gave every impression of being certain he was not going anywhere -- only to resign or be pushed out, depending on whom you believe.

This makes Cohn's tactic of signaling discontent without walking away more logical. Some say he's just hanging on to get the job of chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Maybe.

But let's imagine, because it's not hard, that this intelligent, Jewish member of the White House is genuinely angry at the President's response to the Charlottesville march, that he realizes how complex it can be to resign, doesn't want to abandon ship anyway because he honestly believes he can help right it, and so chooses to make his point -- but stay.

"I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people," Cohn told the Financial Times. If so, it's an honorable decision. But it still leaves his position fundamentally untenable.

Trump has chosen to take a stand on the culture war. Right now, many conservatives are embarrassed by the President's reaction to Charlottesville and want to protect their reputations. In the long run, they might come to thank him for what he did: The activist Left is never going to regard the Republicans as anything other than racist, and someone had to oppose the strange fever of statue demolition sweeping the nation.

Moreover, there's no escaping the way that Trump's latest fight with the media excites and rallies his base -- the one that put him where he is and that the GOP needs if it's going to keep its majority in next year's congressional elections. In other words, love him or loathe him, Trump is the captain of the Republican ship. Republicans like Cohn either have to accept his leadership or disembark. But that's Cohn's personal crisis to work through.

Trump's problem is that the battle with the media is only a distraction from the growing gulf between what he campaigned on and what he's actually achieving in office. Sebastian Gorka has made this point forcefully. In a resignation letter published by The Federalist website, Gorka said that those on the White House staff who are committed to the President's Make America Great Again agenda have been isolated.

So, while men like Cohn imply that the administration has gone too far to the right, Trumpites like Gorka complain that it has gone too far to the left.

The big picture of his administration is far from the disaster often suggested: Trump has signed 53 bills into law and the economy is strong. When faced with a crisis, the President has shown decisive leadership. North Korea has, for the moment, been mostly put back in its box, though Pyongyang continues to test missiles; Trump upheld the red line on the use of the chemical weapons in Syria.

But key legislative goals such as health care reform and building the border wall remain unaccomplished, partly because of opposition from moderate Republicans. And the pledge to make America great again is undermined by the impression of chaos in the Oval Office.

Not only is Trump failing to manage his foot soldiers effectively, but he's also failing to provide clear philosophical direction that commands the loyalty of his staff. It's every man for himself in the Trump White House, starting with the President.

Bolded for hilarity.

- - - Updated - - -

Major departures at the State Department, including the lead envoy to the U.N.

Their announcements follow a stream of other State Department departures since President Trump took office in January. Foreign policy professionals are either leaving on their own or being pushed out over growing frustrations with an administration that seeks to dramatically cut funding to the department’s budget - as much as 37 percent.

[Ripster42]

Major departures at the State Department, including the lead envoy to the U.N.

Did you already cover the cyber team departures? Haven't seen you post it yet.

[Breccia]

Did you already cover the cyber team departures?

Nope, that was clearly...um...blocked by Kaspersky.

Yeah...anyhow thanks!

- - - Updated - - -

Exclusive: Trump vents in Oval Office, "I want tariffs. Bring me some tariffs!"

The following is a rare account of President Trump in a small Oval Office meeting, venting at senior staff for sometimes resisting his hawkish trade agenda.

This account — confirmed by sources with knowledge of the meeting and undisputed by the White House — hints at where Trump may be heading with his trade agenda. And it shows he believes some of his top economic advisors are resisting his agenda because they are "globalists."

The scene: The Oval Office, during Gen. Kelly's first week as Chief of Staff. Kelly convened a meeting to discuss the administration's plans to investigate China for stealing American intellectual property and technology. Kelly stood beside Trump, behind the Resolute desk. In front of the desk were U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, senior trade adviser Peter Navarro, top economic adviser Gary Cohn, and Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Trump, addressing Kelly, said, "John, you haven't been in a trade discussion before, so I want to share with you my views. For the last six months, this same group of geniuses comes in here all the time and I tell them, 'Tariffs. I want tariffs.' And what do they do? They bring me IP. I can't put a tariff on IP." (Most in the room understood that the president can, in fact, use tariffs to combat Chinese IP theft.)

"China is laughing at us," Trump added. "Laughing."

Kelly responded: "Yes sir, I understand, you want tariffs."

Gary Cohn, who opposes tariffs and the protectionist trade measures pushed by the Bannonites, had his shoulders slumped and was clearly appalled by the situation.

Staff secretary Rob Porter, who is a key mediator in such meetings, said to the president: "Sir, do you not want to sign this?" He was referring to Trump's memo prodding Lighthizer to investigate China — which may lead to tariffs against Beijing.

Trump replied: "No, I'll sign it, but it's not what I've asked for the last six months." He turned to Kelly: "So, John, I want you to know, this is my view. I want tariffs. And I want someone to bring me some tariffs."

Kelly replied: "Yes sir, understood sir, I have it."

At one point in the meeting, Navarro pulled out a foam board chart. Trump didn't pay attention to it, saying "I don't even know what I'm looking at here."

Trump made sure the meeting ended with no confusion as to what he wanted.

"John, let me tell you why they didn't bring me any tariffs," he said. "I know there are some people in the room right now that are upset. I know there are some globalists in the room right now. And they don't want them, John, they don't want the tariffs. But I'm telling you, I want tariffs."

Kelly broke up the meeting and said the group would work things out and reconvene at the appropriate time.

A White House official responded to the above account by telling Axios: "The president has been very clear about his agenda as it relates to trade. Discussions pertaining to specific tariffs and trade deals are ongoing and have already resulted in many positive developments."

Be smart: The nationalists in the White House took public credit for the China IP policy, arguing at the time that it would lead to a much-needed crackdown on Beijing. But now that he's outside of the White House, you should expect Bannon and his allies to argue that what's been done so far isn't enough, and that Trump needs to treat China as an adversary in an economic war.

Wow. Oh, and, bolded for emphasis. I'm sensing sarcasm, anyone else?

[Felya]

Exclusive: Trump vents in Oval Office, "I want tariffs. Bring me some tariffs!"

Wow. Oh, and, bolded for emphasis. I'm sensing sarcasm, anyone else?

If Kelly can keep Trump happy and under control, he will be an American hero. Can you imagine having his history and having Trump talk to him like a child?

[Breccia]

Okay, who had Tillerson in the pool? Better find those tickets.

Trump frustration with Tillerson rising fast

There's a ticking problem with Rex Tillerson, and it's growing louder by the day, according to officials inside and close to the White House.

President Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with his Secretary of State. One time recently, after Trump had returned from a meeting on Afghanistan, a source recalled Trump saying, "Rex just doesn't get it, he's totally establishment in his thinking."

Tillerson's jaw-dropping comments on TV today will likely only worsen their relationship.

Fox News Sunday moderator Chris Wallace asked Tillerson about Trump's response to the racist carnage in Charlottesville.

Tillerson replied: "I don't believe anyone doubts the American people's values or the commitment of the American government, or the government's agencies to advancing those values and defending those values."

Wallace asked the obvious follow-up question: "And the president's values?"

"The president speaks for himself," Tillerson said.

Wallace looked stunned.

Why this matters: We've been hearing for weeks, from sources who've spoken to the president, that Trump is getting more and more fed up with Tillerson, who has still yet to staff his agency.

The Tillerson criticisms we keep hearing

1) Trump administration officials can't get their heads around why he still doesn't have political appointees in the top roles at the State Department. They know he's reorganizing the agency, but can't fathom why he's allowed these crucial jobs to remain in the hands of staff whose diplomatic stature is diminished because they're "acting" in the roles.

Tillerson's spokesman R.C. Hammond told Axios it's because "the system is busted. The Secretary sends over recommendations and they sit on the dock."

2) Tillerson hasn't put in the time to build goodwill with Washington's foreign policy community or with the media.

3) Numerous reports that Tillerson has destroyed morale at State, empowering only the tiniest inner circle.

4) Tillerson contradicted the president's response to the recent tensions over Qatar.

5) Trump attacked Qatar for funding terrorism "at a very high level", and supported the Saudi-led blockade. Tillerson muddied Trump's message, urging Qatar's neighbors to ease up on the blockade and engage in "calm and thoughtful dialogue."

Hammond's response: "On Qatar, progress will be measured in months and we are seeing it."

6) Tillerson argued against the White House's financial sanctionsagainst the dictatorial regime in Venezuela, according to sources close to the White House. These sources pointed to the influence on Tillerson of Tom Shannon, a top State careerist who is an expert on Latin America.

Sources close to the president view Shannon as a rogue force who, in their view, naively puts too much faith in diplomacy at the expense of hardline actions like sanctions.

Shannon's recent meeting with Venezuela's then-foreign minister — at the same time the WH was contemplating tough action against Venezuela — raised eyebrows among Republican hawks.

Hammond's response: "Yes, diplomats do prefer diplomacy."

7) Tillerson keeps recommending to Trump that he re-certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal; whereas Trump has made clear he wants to cancel it.
Hammond's response: "This admin inherited a lousy deal. It's taking the circumstances created by the Deal and trying to build around it a policy that addresses all of the threats Iran offers the world."

8) White House officials frequently vent about Tillerson's Chief of Staff Margaret Peterlin. They say she's difficult to work with and isolatesthe secretary from the information and contacts he needs to do his job well.

Hammond's response: "It is Washington, you have to have your knives out for someone."

A White House official said, "Tillerson is a great representative for the administration and has confronted many diplomatic challenges well."