By Jeffrey A. Rendall
President Trump enjoyed positive response to his terrific State of the Union Address, but…
Polls, polls, everywhere… Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, doesn’t it?
It’s a natural part of human curiosity to wonder what other people think about important things in the world. We all live in a bit of a bubble with every household holding different views on things. Everyone has an opinion, even if many don’t share it with the open air or others in the surrounding vicinity.
Diversity of opinion is a function of a free society.
I think it was the gentleman who played George Wyeth at Colonial Williamsburg who used to say, “If everyone in the room is thinking the same thing, someone isn’t thinking.”
President Donald J. Trump, among others, is a keen poll watcher. As a leader whose attitudes guide him to favor, well, pretty much whatever he thinks will benefit America as a country, Trump considers it essential to please the People. Ever notice how he often cites poll results in his responses to media questions?
Trump must have been particularly interested to see what Americans thought about his State of the Union Address the other night, which was a vintage Trump-ian performance that highlighted the very embodiments of the American Way. Patriotism is never out of favor with Donald J. Trump, and his drive to showcase real American heroism was smart politics.
Polls immediately following the address agreed with him. Is this good news, or just a blip? In an article titled, “Nearly two-thirds of State of the Union viewers approve of Trump speech: CNN poll”, Mabinty Quarshie reported at the Washington Examiner the other day:
“The survey, conducted by SSRS, showed 64% of respondents had a very or somewhat positive reaction to Trump’s address, which lasted nearly two hours and was the first of his second term. By contrast, just 36% said they had a somewhat negative or very negative response.
“In more positive news for Trump, 65% said they had a lot or some confidence in Trump’s ability to provide ‘real leadership’ for the country, compared to the 35% who said they had no confidence. The poll also found that 64% believe the policies Trump proposed will move the country in the right direction, with another 36% saying the policies would move the nation in the wrong direction…
“More than half of respondents, 54%, said that Trump has had the right priorities during his second term, with another 46% stating he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems. Affordability has been a key issue for Trump, as economic uncertainty could threaten the GOP’s chances to maintain control of both chambers of Congress after the midterm elections. In the CNN poll, 62% said that Trump’s proposed policies on the economy specifically will move the nation in the right direction, compared to 38% who said it would move the nation in the wrong direction.”
While these are good numbers and encouraging signs, it should be noted that only Trump’s most ardent voters – and his most enthusiastic haters – likely had the stamina to sit through a two-hour policy-loaded speech. As I observed in my post-speech overview, Trump is quite a showman and worth tuning-in for the show quality alone, but would the casual TV watcher be compelled to participate in a poll afterwards?
The responsive group would probably include the country’s political junkies and the most politically engaged. The same goes for the roughly half of the nation who doesn’t like Trump, at all. The disgruntled could’ve been induced to chip in to the poll to try and soften the totals in a critical way for Trump.
I’m not a pollster, but I am an astute observer of human nature.
Trump’s speech content deserved an A, for sure. Only a man like Trump could pack that quantity of “meat” into his address for that amount of time, but he was aided in his presentation by his keen awareness of selecting American patriots to be highlighted by the president during his oration. Trump’s plethora of practice with political rallies definitely taught him a few “tricks” to use in his annual “official” State of the Union.
People naturally love milestones, too, so the fact it’s been 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence (this year) didn’t hurt the president’s ability to organize themes around the upcoming occasion.
Throw-in the inspiring visuals from the presence of the victorious gold medal-winning men’s U.S. hockey team, and not even Democrats could resist showing some semblance of national pride when prompted. Democrats may hope to keep themselves apart from all the good news in the republic these days, but they wouldn’t look very respectful by remaining silent or booing the parade of everyday (and long-term) heroes Trump incorporated into his speech.
So, it’s not surprising that two-thirds of CNN’s poll respondents liked the speech.
Perhaps most encouraging were the 62 percent who felt Trump’s policies will move the economy in the right direction. I’d be interested to see what the 38 percent who said “no” on the economy really thought would do the trick. What, require government to take over everything? That’s been tried and led to disastrous results.
Trump wasn’t going to win over this type of viewer who’d clearly already made up his or her mind on the economy no matter what he said.
One of the most salient moments Tuesday night was when Trump looked at the stoic Democrat representatives and senators and asked, “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the government is to protect American citizens NOT illegal aliens.”
Home-based speech viewers weren’t treated to the results of Trump’s informal poll of Democrat feelings. Here’s thinking Senator John Fetterman probably stood up (can’t say for sure), but nobody else on the left side of the room dared defy Democrat leaders by getting out of their seats. Rank and file Democrats wouldn’t help Trump demonstrate a truth. Plus, Democrats LOVE illegal aliens, which supply the bodies they crave for redistricting purposes.
Another informal question Trump must’ve been dying to pose to the Democrats concerned facial expressions and body language… Referring to the seated Dems, Trump said, “These people are crazy, I’m telling you!”
I’m not sure how Trump expected Democrats to react, but they weren’t about to oblige him in a positive way.
As noted above, CNN poll respondents gave Trump high marks for showing real leadership, which, again, sets quite a contrast to Democrats, who just sat still and hoped like heck that Americans would heed their advice and think Trump was a liar who shouldn’t be listened to. Is there one issue today where Democrats lead?
Abortion? Amnesty for illegal aliens? Climate hysteria? Government hiring?
Trump’s entire cabinet is full of natural born leaders, the most prominent being former senator-turned Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Floridian of Cuban ethnic heritage has come a long way since the days of the “Gang of Eight” and amnesty for illegal aliens. The world has changed a lot, and Rubio has grown.
Pre-SOTU polls did reveal potential problem areas for Trump to work on. This article from The Hill (by Sarah Fortinsky) revealed drops in presidential approval from virtually every category, the typical dampening of support over time once the “newness” of a new administration wears off.
The question from Tuesday’s jumpstart of the campaign season is whether Trump can regain the backing of those he’s lost and win the support from the small slice of persuadable voters who haven’t closed the door to possibly looking past some of their personal reservations about Trump’s personality to allow them to see the policy proposals that will benefit the country as a whole.
Pundits and Republican-favoring “experts” predict that Americans should start seeing the effects of an improving economic outlook, and they’ll be in a better mood come Election Day. Democrats offer nothing to people who insist on government that works – and stays out of the way when warranted. The post-SOTU polls were encouraging; it’s up to Trump and company to sustain the momentum.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .