Despite non-stop challenges from political rivals and a hostile news media, President Trump can consider some promising poll numbers of particular interest to conservatives, Republicans and faithful Trump fans. The numbers, though not necessarily bell-ringers, suggest the public is warming to the Trump way of doing things.
Democrats have issued glamorous calls for "resistance" ever since President Trump took office. But wait. That resistance has now surfaced within the party itself and the unthinkable has happened: a charismatic array of new faces on Capitol Hill appear to be pushing back against the establishment, particularly House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. It is an unforeseen by-product. Things change.
There will be much ado about former first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday. Her new 448-page memoir "Becoming" arrives from Crown Publishing Group and Penguin Random House, and yes, the book is already No. 1 on Amazon among all books, along with four subcategories. It will be published in 30 languages. And then the real blitz begins. Mrs. Obama will embark on a 10-city national tour, beginning in Chicago with an event hosted by Oprah Winfrey at the United Arena, which seats 23,000 people. The event is sold out, as are the next two dates at major arenas in Inglewood, California, and in Washington, D.C. An appearance in London next month is also sold out.
Thanksgiving dinner signals the beginning of the holiday get-together season when family and friends are supposed to dine together and enjoy shared moments. Yes, well. That ideal outcome has been sullied in recent years after the occasion was politicized - primarily by certain Democrats who urged the public to consider the festive meal an opportunity to talk up Obamacare and other issues.
An indecorous encounter between president and reporter continues to rattle the journalism community, a troubled place to begin with. President Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta sparred on camera during a White House press conference, followed by charge that Mr. Acosta later became physical with a White House intern — a charge he denies. The action was over in moments — but it was enough to spark caustic reactions, soul-searching, complaints and cautions for hours on end.
Midterms, what midterms? The big election is in the rear-view mirror. Talk of the blue wave or the red wave has faded. Chatter about President Trump's encounter with CNN reporter Jim Acosta at a White House press conference has dulled to a din. All have been swept off the popular press radar with the long-awaited exit of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, replaced for now by Matthew G. Whitaker, his chief of staff.
The day after a big election is typically packed with overblown media coverage, emotional commentary, argument, jubilation, cautionary tales, dread — and multiple reminders that a presidential bout is just around the corner.
Step aside, now, it's showtime. The media has gone into overdrive as the nation braces for the midterm elections — now billed as on par with a presidential bout. The Democratic Party and its army of strategists and sympathetic journalists have ramped up alarm and melodrama as a get-out-the-vote tool — assuring their flock that a blue wave is the only way to wash President Trump out of office and save America — or words to that effect.
Polls and op-eds have arrived nonstop as the midterm elections close in. The genuine countdown is on. Yet despite the onslaught of survey numbers and deep thoughts, the findings are inconclusive. Grand predictions and confident consensus among pollsters and pundits about the outcome of the elections are scarce. And no wonder. They remember what happened in 2016 when things went awry and President Trump won the White House despite their expert opinions and intricate surveys.
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have returned to the public stage. The pair are campaigning for midterm candidates. They have a multimillion-dollar book deal. They founded Higher Ground Productions, a company that came in handy in May when the Obamas signed up to produce original programming for video streaming service Netflix and its audience of 125 million subscribers in 190 countries.
The broadcast news media has not been kind to President Trump since he was elected. Consistent studies from the Media Research Center showed that, on average, 90 percent of the coverage of Mr. Trump has been hostile. Broadcasters now appear intent on creating a negative grand finale as the midterm elections loom, lashing out at the GOP as well.
Imagine that Election Day became the next big holiday. Hallmark Cards Inc. would probably like the idea, along with retailers, restaurants and jittery Americans who appear eager to celebrate assorted observances and festivals.
Even talk-radio kingpin Rush Limbaugh has declared that he's just about had it with the current political discourse -- which seems to have mutated into a ceaseless negative force fueled by anxious politicians and a blame-minded press. He is not alone. There is a name for this phenomenon: "Exhaustive majority."
The Democratic Party may be a little too confident about its support among certain demographic groups. Some say the Hispanic vote is not necessarily a lock for the party -- and should the Democrats lose this support, it could make a dent. Over 29 million Hispanics are eligible to vote in 2018, according to the Pew Research Center.
The nation's largest third party is not standing by as the two major political rivals duke it out over the midterm elections.
The American Conservative Union has released a no-nonsense get-out-the-vote message now running in 28 key congressional districts, including the territories of Reps. Mia Love of Utah, Dave Brat of Virginia, Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Pete Sessions of Texas and, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida — to name just a few.
President Trump recently cited "Democrat-supported loopholes in our federal laws" as the reason that most immigrant families who crossed the border illegally are not detained or removed from the U.S. — "only released." Recent numbers appear to reflect the influence of the loophole factor.
Though the origins of the expanding Honduran caravan advancing on the U.S. border remain somewhat mysterious, broadcasters hostile to President Trump and his administration have already crafted the political narrative as a "humanitarian crisis" and are off on a march of their own. The tone and content of the coverage is so clear and unified that even The Associated Press — which officially sets style and grammar use for most news organizations — was criticized for referring to the caravan participants as "a ragtag army of the poor."
There are clear clues when an OSS Society dinner is under way, as was the case on Saturday evening. Each guest received a complimentary crystal martini glass, and the official libation of the night was the "Fighting 69th Regimental Cocktail" — named for a U.S. Army unit which traces its heritage back to 1849. The drink consists of one part Irish whiskey and three parts chilled champagne.
The countdown is on for the arrival of what has come to be known as the "Honduran caravan" — an estimated 4,000 men, women, children and infants who left the troubled Honduran city of Pedro Sula last weekend on foot and by truck. Saturday will mark a week on the march for the throng of hopefuls who plan to assemble on the U.S.-Mexico border and demand entry. The caravan itself has become a complex political symbol that some observers say is yet another ploy by rival Democrats and a hostile news media to portray the president in a negative light as the midterm elections approach.
