NEWS AND OPINION:
Former President Donald Trump still retains considerable appeal across select TV audiences, particularly on Newsmax, which recently offered live, wall-to-wall coverage of Mr. Trump’s “Save America” rally in Cullman, Alabama — an event which drew 50,000 people.
The big doings did not warrant the same attention from the broadcast and cable competition. Newsmax, however, made a strategic decision to offer bodacious coverage of Mr. Trump and his event — and enjoyed a ratings reward.
“According to Nielsen data, Newsmax had a reach of more than 3.3 million total viewers for Saturday’s rally, while Trump’s speech averaged a whopping 1.7 million per minute viewers. Newsmax estimates that more than 2 million tuned in to the network through streaming devices, yielding an audience over 5 million viewers,” the news organization said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway
Newsmax bested the cable news and online streaming competition across the board, a teachable moment for networks which did not cover the event live, or in full. The takeaway: Reliable Trump audiences tune in and stay put.
The network enjoyed a similar victory while covering a recent Trump rally in Ohio, which attracted a combined audience of 3 million.
“Donald Trump is both a political phenomenon and a big news story, and his followers clearly like Newsmax for covering him,” a Newsmax spokesman told the Beltway.
BIDEN: THE GOP’S ‘SECRET WEAPON’
Uh-oh. One of the Republican Party’s greatest assets is living in the White House at this very moment.
“President Biden’s job performance is making him the most serious political threat to Democrats’ election chances in 2022. It’s almost as if Biden is a GOP secret weapon, ensuring that Republicans retake control of the House and Senate,” wrote Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas.
“It’s not just Biden’s mishandling of multiple crises; it’s the way he’s mishandling them. Flip-flops, contradictions, denials, blame shifting, political tone-deafness and refusal to concede facts,” he said in his op-ed, published by The Hill.
He cited multiple examples of this phenomenon — including the “Afghanistan withdrawal disaster,” along with the surge in COVID-19 cases, fears of inflation among voters themselves and ongoing illegal immigration challenges on the southern border.
“Fortunately for Biden, he doesn’t have to face the voters again until 2024. Unfortunately for Biden, his actions likely mean he will have to face a Republican Congress in January 2023,” Mr. Matthews concluded.
A TAXING SITUATION
If you are curious about the repercussions of Democratic Party’s $3.5 trillion budget resolution, Americans for Tax Reform has just released a handy point-by-point guide of “tax hikes to expect.” Find it and much more at ATR.org.
The nonprofit taxpayer-advocacy group’s findings emphasize the potential fallout for working families and small businesses in particular.
The list also points out spending that will go toward “woke policies” that include creating a “Civilian Climate Corps” — which would get $10 billion, by the way.
ONE FOR THE TRANSLATORS
The American Translators Association — the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the U.S. — has written advisory letters to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other administration officials, asking that the U.S. immediately prioritize the evacuation of Afghan interpreters and their families to a safe location outside Afghanistan.
“Acting swiftly is strategically important because linguists are essential in the global war on terror, and their safety is inextricably tied to the safety of us all,” Ted Wozniak, president of the organization, advised in the letters.
“Afghan interpreters in particular have placed their lives on the line countless times over the 20-year span of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, protecting our troops and diplomats from harm, helping navigate culturally sensitive and dangerous situations, contributing to improving the quality of life for Afghans and American troops alike. They deserve your attention,” Mr. Wozniak said.
“Anything less would constitute a breach of President Biden’s promise that those who helped the U.S. military ‘are not going to be left behind’ and would be a moral and political failure by the United States,” he noted.
AND ABOUT THOSE MASKS
The Georgia-based Tea Party Patriots — a 3 million member grassroots group that espouses liberty and the Constitution — has organized over 60 protests around the nation to speak out against “Democrat-led mandates for COVID vaccines and masks.” For a list of those “Just Say No” events — or for pointers on creating your own “sign-waving” event, consult TeaPartyPatriots.org.
“The purpose behind Saturday’s events is to remind the wanna-be tyrants they work for us, not the other way around. We will stand and speak up for ourselves, our children, our communities, and our country,” says Jenny Beth Martin, honorary chairwoman of Tea Party Patriots Action.
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
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POLL DU JOUR
• 33% of U.S. adults think the current U.S. Congress has done “less than usual” so far in its two-year term; 53% of Republicans, 35% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.
• 25% overall say Congress has accomplished “about the same” as in previous terms; 18% of Republicans, 26% of independents and 35% of Democrats agree.
• 14% say it has accomplished “more than usual”; 8% of Republicans, 10% of independents and 27% of Democrats agree.
• 28% are not sure how much Congress has accomplished; 21% of Republicans, 28% of independents and 21% of Democrats agree.
SOURCE: A YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 14-17.
• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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