One Rep’s Ominous Warning About Trump: ‘If The Public Knew What Congress Knows…’

Posted by on January 20, 2017 at 8:10 am. 3 Comments :

The day that few thought would ever come is upon us. Donald Trump takes the oath of office today and becomes President of the United States. The day is historic for many reasons. Among them the unprecedented level of division and rancor. Trump will enter the White House with the lowest approval ratings on record. And before he takes a single official act he will be the subject of investigations and suspicions related to his businesses and unsavory connections to Russia.

Donald Trump

As a result of these controversies, many Democratic members of Congress have chosen to skip the inaugural proceedings. At last count there were more than sixty representatives planning not to represent. The decision to snub The Donald has been met with both praise and scorn. But the words of one congressman are particularly disturbing.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland will be attending the inauguration. However, in an interview on CNN, he defended those who have decided to stay away. What Cummings told Chris Cuomo should give every American pause:

“You’ve got to understand that we members of Congress have a lot of information that the public does not have. And I can tell you over the last week or two, the classified briefings that I have been to, and if the public knew what members of Congress know…”

With that he trailed off leaving a dramatic gap to be filled with our imaginations. Cummings can’t reveal the details to which he is alluding because they are classified. But it’s clear that he believes those details, if known, would justify boycotting Trump’s inauguration. This makes it imperative that Congress conduct fair and thorough investigations and disclose the results to the public. The legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, and our democracy, are at stake. Cummings said as much later in the CNN interview:

“This, to me, is bigger than President-elect Trump. I’m concerned that we are moving slowly but surely towards a crisis of a legitimacy with regard to our core institutions.”

Already we have learned that seventeen intelligence agencies agree that Russia has interfered with our election. That interference came in the form of cyber espionage and propaganda disseminated via fake news. Theses agencies also concluded that Russia’s intent was to benefit Trump and harm Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, they have evidence that these activities were approved at the highest level – i.e. Vladimir Putin. And that’s just what we already know.

Cummings is concerned that Republicans are giving Trump a pass by refusing to impanel a committee of inquiry. But if the briefings received by Congress contain information as serious as implied by Cummings, then boycotting the inauguration should be just the start. And Democrats need to step up their efforts to investigate and fully inform the American people.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

https://youtu.be/U0Tqbi1wAog

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New Poll Shows Trump Voters Devoutly Committed To The Cult Of Fox News

Posted by on January 19, 2017 at 1:06 pm. 8 Comments :

A new survey by the Pew Center confirms something that has been known for quite some time. Fox News continues to be the dominant provider of “news” to America’s right wing. This year that means it cast its spell on Donald Trump’s voters in HUGE way. And why not? Fox and Trump share much in common. Particularly a compulsion for lying. See the Trump Bullshitopedia, and this:

Fox News Lies

From the Pew study:

“According to a new Pew Research Center survey, Americans who say they voted for Trump in the general election relied heavily on Fox News as their main source of election news leading up to the 2016 election, whereas Clinton voters named an array of different sources, with no one source named by more than one-in-five of her supporters.”

The survey revealed that 40% of Trump voters said that Fox News was their main source for election news. That’s more than the next seven news sources – combined! The Trumpster’s devotion to Fox was five times greater than the second place CNN.

For contrast, CNN came out on top as the main source of election news for Clinton voters. However, CNN attained that spot with only 18% of Clinton supporters. What’s more, there was far more diversity of news sources among the Clinton demo. There were even 3% who admitted to watching Fox.

What this tells us is that Fox News is still operating less as a news outlet than as a cult leader. Its glassy-eyed disciples remain transfixed by every blond presenter’s smile and wink. Fox viewers are seemingly incapable of changing the channel for fear of exposure to reality, which would rattle the foundations of their ultra-conservative world.

So this may be a good time to recommend my ebook “Fox Nation vs. Reality, The Fox News Cult Of Ignorance.” It contains numerous examples of documented fiction produced by the nation’s premiere fake news enterprise.

Fox Nation vs. Reality


SRSLY? 34,000+ Tweets Later, Donald Trump Says ‘I Don’t Like Tweeting’

Posted by on January 18, 2017 at 2:26 pm. 2 Comments :

Donald Trump gave Fox News an interview Wednesday and it went pretty much like you might expect. Ainsley Earhardt tossed a few softballs at him, and he dodged them anyway. However, there were a couple of responses where he made news despite himself (video below).

Trump Twit

First of all, Trump was asked about his obsession with Twitter. He responded in a way that contradicts everything he’s done for the past couple of years:

“Look, I don’t like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing. But I get very dishonest media, very dishonest press. And it’s my only way that I can counteract.”

For someone who doesn’t like tweeting, he sure devotes an awful lot of time to it. And his tweets often address significant issues, including trade, and foreign relations. Of course, just as often he’s merely bragging about himself or insulting others. But if he has other things to do, then why isn’t he doing them?

Trump’s excuse for tweeting so frequently is that it’s the only way to counteract all the dishonest press he gets. That’s got to come as a surprise to anyone who owns a television. Trump has been the recipient of more uninterrupted airtime than any other candidate – or human. The media broadcast his campaign stump speeches in full and took his phone calls on the air. When he wants press time he only has to ask for it and the networks oblige. If there is any lack of Trump on TV it’s his own doing. Until last week he didn’t hold a press conference for seven months.

Clearly, there are many ways for Trump to counter what he regards as dishonest press. That includes friendly venues like Fox News, talk radio, and wingnut blogs like Breitbart. He obviously prefers Twitter because it doesn’t require much critical thought. There isn’t much of substance you can say with 140 characters. What’s more, it doesn’t open him up to questions he can’t answer or hold him accountable for his lies.

The other notable remarks from the Fox News interview concerned the controversy over the White House briefing room. Last week Trump’s incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, floated the notion that the briefings might be moved to another location outside of the White House. That didn’t sit well with the journalists who would be evicted. Jeff Mason, president of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) later met with Spicer and issued this statement shortly thereafter:

“The White House Correspondents’ Association has always advocated for increasing access and transparency for the benefit of all news outlets and the public. I emphasized the importance of the White House press briefing room and noted that it is open to all journalists who seek access now. I made clear that the WHCA would view it as unacceptable if the incoming administration sought to move White House reporters out of the press work space behind the press briefing room. Access in the West Wing to senior administration officials, including the press secretary, is critical to transparency and to journalists’ ability to do their jobs.’

Trump told Fox’s Earhardt that, due to the negative reaction, he didn’t think the briefing room would be moved for now. However, he also announced a new and unprecedented control over access to the briefings:

“Some people in the press will not be able to get in because there’s just too many people … we have so many people who wanna go in so we’ll have to just pick the people who go into the room. I’m sure other people will be thrilled about that.”

Currently the non-partisan WHCA is responsible for assigning credentials to reporters who seek admittance to the briefings. The politicians in the White House have no say. That insures that the room isn’t stacked with sycophants and propagandists as is done in dictatorial regimes. Apparently Trump favors the dictator’s methods. That may also be why his Washington, D.C. hotel just announced that it is banning all media during the inauguration. So much for a free press.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.


ObamaCare More Popular Than Ever – Just As Trump And GOP Rush To Kill It

Posted by on January 17, 2017 at 1:48 pm. 3 Comments :

Since 2010, Republicans have been staunchly opposed to virtually any health insurance reform that actually helped those who needed it. They voted more than fifty times to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) during Obama’s presidency. Now that the GOP has one of their own moving into the White House, they are giddy with anticipation of achieving their goal.

ObamaCare

There’s just one problem. The Wall Street Journal and NBC News just released a survey that has bad news for the GOP:

“As Republicans get closer to repealing it, President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law — or Obamacare — has never been more popular, according to results from a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.” […]

“50 percent of Americans say the law is working well (6 percent) or needs minor modifications to improve it (44 percent).”

The poll also notes that thirty-three percent of respondents think that ObamaCare could be improved with a major overhaul. However, only sixteen percent of the American people think that it should be eliminated entirely. What’s more, the public has very little faith in the Republican majority in Congress to produce anything to adequately replace ObamaCare:

“Just 26 percent of Americans have either a ‘great deal’ or ‘quite a bit of confidence’ that congressional Republicans will replace the law with something better, while a combined 50 percent say they have either ‘very little’ or no confidence with the GOP here.”

In light of that, Trump’s slumping appeal to the nation registers even more prominently. He is by far the least popular president-elect in modern history with a mere forty percent favorability. Compare that with the last three presidents just prior to inauguration: Obama (84%), Bush (61%), Clinton (67%). And this is at a time when a newly elected leader enjoys a “honeymoon” period. It appears the American people are more in the mood for a quickie divorce. And true to form, Trump blames that on “rigged” polls.

For the record, the polls were actually remarkably accurate. They predicated that Hillary Clinton was favored by two to three percent in the days before the election. And that is precisely her margin of victory in the popular vote.

The people’s opposition to a repeal of ObamaCare has a factual foundation that Republicans strive to suppress. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of repeal found that up to 32 million people would lose their health coverage. They also found that premiums would skyrocket by up to fifty percent more than current rates. Also troubling is their finding that insurance providers would bail out of the market in droves. In Fact, they project that half of the nation would live in areas with no individual insurers at all. And that would rise to three-quarters by 2026.

Perhaps that’s why Republicans passed a bill to prohibit the CBO from scoring their ObamaCare repeal efforts. It’s a tactic designed to insure that people remain in the dark when their representatives are screwing them over. If they truly believed in the benefits of a repeal, they wouldn’t be afraid to let people know how it will affect them.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

So Republicans are attempting to undo a popular healthcare bill, whose repeal will raise costs for both citizens and government. And they’re doing it behind a veil of self-imposed secrecy, at the behest of a historically reviled new president. Sounds like business as usual for the contemporary Tea Party infused, Ayn Rand inspired, Trump led Republican Party.


Trump’s National Security Nominee Quits Before She Starts Amid Plagiarism Scandal

Posted by on January 16, 2017 at 2:23 pm. 4 Comments :

Donald Trump has been populating his cabinet with decidedly unsavory figures bent on destroying the agencies they will lead. And while appointing arsonists to run the Fire Departments, he has failed to properly vet his nominees. Case in point is Monica Crowley, tapped as strategic communications director of the National Security Council.

Monica Crowley

Crowley, formerly of Fox News, was discovered to have plagiarized portions of her 2012 book, “What The (Bleep) Just Happened.” CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski documented more than fifty instances of text that was taken from other sources without attribution. In addition, Politico reported that Crowley also allegedly plagiarized portions of her doctoral dissertation from Columbia University.

The Trump transition team initially dismissed these reports as politically motivated attacks. However, the budding scandal heated up when her publisher, HarperCollins, pulled the book off the market. It would be difficult for the Trump camp to accuse HarperCollins of partisanship given that it’s owned by the same corporate parent as Fox News.

Monday morning Crowley spoke with the Washington Times and revealed she would not be joining the Trump administration after all. As reported by TVNewser, she said that:

“After much reflection I have decided to remain in New York to pursue other opportunities and will not be taking a position in the incoming administration,” Crowley said in a statement, to the Washington Times. “I greatly appreciate being asked to be part of President-elect Trump’s team and I will continue to enthusiastically support him and his agenda for American renewal.”

Trump’s nominee for National Security Adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, expressed regrets that Crowley had bowed out. He wished her well saying “The NSC will miss the opportunity to have Monica Crowley as part of our team.” No mention of the plagiarism charges was made by either Crowley or Trump’s people. However, this embarrassing episode could have been avoided with competent vetting. Crowley’s sticky fingers have been part of the public record since at least 1999. At that time the Wall Street Journal caught her plagiarizing an article from Commentary Magazine for a Journal feature.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Perhaps this is why Congress is so anxious to barrel through the confirmation hearings before the ethics reviews have been completed. Their unprecedented rush violates the standards that Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had demanded for President Obama’s nominees. Unfortunately, their haste and incompetence could have grave consequences for the country. The Crowley affair is just the tip of the iceberg. We can expect further scandals and untold harm as a result of staffing the government with crooks and amateurs.


Trump Cancels MLK Day Visit To African American Museum To Spite John Lewis

Posted by on January 15, 2017 at 5:46 pm. 5 Comments :

This Monday is the national holiday commemorating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s a day when the whole country recognizes the contributions of one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders.

This year, for the first time, there is a Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. where people can pay their respects to his wisdom and his message of love and unity. Even President-Elect Donald Trump planned to spend some time there on the holiday. That is, until The Donald embarked on a Twitter tirade lambasting another civil rights hero for exercising his rights.

Donald Trump, Martin Luther King

Rep. John Lewis has been an advocate for equality for more than fifty years. He marched alongside King and participated in untold demonstrations for freedom for all. On more than one occasion he risked his own life for these principles.

This weekend Lewis was interviewed for a segment on Meet the Press. He told moderator Chuck Todd that he would not be attending the inauguration because he didn’t consider Trump to be a “legitimate” president:

“I don’t see this President-elect as a legitimate president. I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.”

Lewis is not alone in that opinion. There are reportedly a couple of dozen members of Congress opting out of the inaugural festivities. In response to Lewis, Trump took to Twitter (as usual) and revealed his notoriously thin-skin. In a disrespectful and racist reply, Trump maligned Lewis as “All talk, talk, talk – no action.” History proves that to be a blatant lie. Trump also called Lewis’ Atlanta district “horrible” and “crime infested.” That’s also untrue.

Subsequent to this war of words, Trump’s transition team announced that he would not be visiting the museum after all. They cited an unspecified scheduling conflict as the reason. However, it seems like more than a coincidence that this conflict should arise right after Trump goes off on Lewis. What’s more, the Museum is not just a repository of African American history, including the parts where Lewis played a significant role. It is also the result of legislation first introduced in Congress by Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Does Trump really have another sudden, more pressing engagement on MLK’s birthday? Perhaps. There is some skepticism on whether Trump had ever planned to go at all. According to BuzzFeed, Trump’s transition team asked the Smithsonian about a visit, but never actually scheduled one. But people can draw their own conclusions given the available evidence. And Trump’s own temperament should be part of that analysis. His famously juvenile tendencies suggest that a spiteful rejection of this sort would be typical Trumpian behavior.

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Hysterical TV Listing Compares Trump Inauguration To A Nightmarish Twilight Zone

Posted by on January 15, 2017 at 1:07 pm. 6 Comments :

With less than a week until Donald Trump is sworn in to office, the world is still incredulous. Many wonder how a vulgar, thin-skinned, racist, pathological liar, with countless conflicts of interest, and unsavory ties to Russia, ever got to this point.

Trump TV Listing

However, a television writer in Scotland may have had the best reaction to this unsettling state of affairs. Damien Love writes the program synopses for Scotland’s Sunday Herald. In this week’s listings he described the Trump inauguration in a uniquely troubling way:

President Trump: The Inauguration

4pm, BBC One/ STV

After a long absence, The Twilight Zone returns with one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial productions in broadcast history. Sci-fi writers have dabbled often with alternative history stories – among the most common is the “What If The Nazis Had Won The Second World War” setting – but this huge interactive virtual reality project, which will unfold on TV, in the press, and on Twitter over the next four years, sets out to build an ongoing alternative present. The story begins in a nightmarish version of 2017 in which huge sections of the US electorate have somehow been duped into voting to make Donald Trump president. It sounds far-fetched, and it is, but as it goes on it becomes more and more chillingly plausible. Today’s feature-length opener concentrates on the gaudy inauguration of President Trump, and the stirrings of protest and despair surrounding the ceremony, while pundits speculate gravely on what lies ahead. It’s a flawed piece, but a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into, if we’re not careful.

Love’s satire perfectly captures some very real concerns. This is indeed “a nightmarish version of 2017” and “a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into.” And the fact that other countries perceive the new American government this way forecasts a worrisome decline in respect for the nation. This snarky TV listing is, unfortunately, just a preview of what’s to come.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump TV


SRSLY? Rudy Giuliani Says Media-Hater Trump Will ‘Get Us Back To A Free Press’

Posted by on January 14, 2017 at 6:54 pm. 5 Comments :

Rudy Giuliani appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program Friday in a successful attempt to certify his reputation as a mush-brained old coot. This pair of Donald Trump fluffers were in awe of The Donald’s performance at his press conference harangue on Wednesday. Watching Trump berate a CNN reporter for daring to ask a question struck Giuliani as respectful of a free press.

Rudy Giuliani

The exchange between Giuliani and Hannity revealed just how deranged the former mayor has become. His comments lauded Trump as a breath of fresh air and a champion of journalistic ethics. No, seriously. Take these actual excerpts for example:

Giuliani: “It is refreshing and it is very good for our democracy that we have a president that is trying to get us back to a free press.”

Unfortunately, most journalists would vehemently disagree with Giuliani’s worshipful remarks. In fact, the Committee to Protect Journalists called Trump “an unprecedented threat to the rights of journalists.” Their lengthy press release also included these criticisms:

“Since the beginning of his candidacy, Trump has insulted and vilified the press and has made his opposition to the media a centerpiece of his campaign. Trump has routinely labeled the press as ‘dishonest’ and ‘scum’ and singled out individual news organizations and journalists.

“He has mocked a disabled New York Times journalist and called an ABC News reporter a ‘sleaze’ in a press conference. He expelled Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from a campaign press conference because he asked an ‘impertinent’ question, and has publicly demeaned other journalists.”

In addition to that, the National Press Club put out a statement condemning Trump’s anti-press tactics as “unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy.” So the people most concerned about the welfare of journalists don’t regard Trump as either refreshing or good for democracy.

Giuliani: “[Trump] may actually reestablish journalistic ethics.”

Giuliani didn’t bother to elaborate on how Trump would do that. He must think that revoking the press credentials of reporters who don’t lavish him with praise advances ethical journalism. Among the news organizations Trump has muzzled are the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Politico, Huffington Post, Daily Beast, and Univision.

Even worse, he said that CNN’s reporting about him was in some way similar to what the Nazis did. However, he never explained what the similarity was. It’s bad enough that he would trivialize the very real horrors that millions suffered. But he descends further into the unspeakably vile by claiming that he’s the victim.

Giuliani: “He’s an honest man. So they’re not gonna catch him in some kind of lie.”

This may be the best indication that Giuliani has totally lost his mind. Donald Trump is the most notoriously pathological liar that has ever run for president. He ranks at the bottom of PolitiFact’s scoring of all the presidential candidates for the 2016 cycle. See for yourself with this collection of fully documented lies: The Trump Bullshitopedia.

Giuliani was just named by Trump to lead his cybersecurity team, a position for which he is woefully unqualified. But he is even less qualified as a spokesman for journalists or the best interests of a free press. Especially if he thinks that someone with as much contempt for the First Amendment as Trump has shown could ever have a positive influence on it.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.


Fox News Is NOT News: Network’s Own Ads Label Its Programming As ‘Entertainment’

Posted by on January 14, 2017 at 9:08 am. 1 Comments :

Most Americans don’t need Fox News to inform them that the network is a rabidly partisan, right-wing propaganda machine. However, it’s nice of them to admit it from time to time, and to provide incontrovertible proof.

The latest public confession by Fox came when they posted promotions for the premiere of Tucker Carlson Tonight. Carlson is the Trump-loving, ultra-conservative, knee-jerk GOP mouthpiece tapped to fill Megyn Kelly’s stiletto heels. On the Fox News website they posted ads to draw viewers to the new primetime program under an unusual category heading: Entertainment.

Fox News Tucker Carlson

That’s right. Even Fox News doesn’t consider their programs to be news. That has been readily apparent to anyone who has watched the network for more than five minutes. But from Fox’s perspective it has been a key part of their business model from the start. As reported previously by News Corpse:

“Fox News has redefined television journalism by fundamentally transforming it from an information medium to an entertainment medium. They dress up their pseudo-news segments in the same melodramatic packaging that entertainment outlets use: conflict, scandal, mystery, and hyper-charged emotions including hero worship and fear.

“Fox employs flashy graphics and attention-grabbing audio whooshes and gongs to decorate their reports that are presented as ‘ALERTS’ regardless of the news value. And always there is sex. Fox’s roster of hosts has more former beauty pageant contestants that journalists. And they aren’t shy about putting their ‘talent’ in revealing clothes and camera angles. In fact, Fox CEO Roger Ailes demands it. As for news, Fox’s concentration on tabloid thrill-fiction like Benghazi and Obama’s birth certificate is the news equivalent of porn.”

This isn’t the first time that Fox has been so candid about their intention to be perceived as an entertainment medium. In a 2015 profile in the Hollywood Reporter the now-disgraced former CEO of Fox made it clear what field of broadcasting he was interested in playing on. He told the trade mag that CNN and MSNBC were not on his radar:

“In fact, Ailes, 74, no longer views those networks as rivals. ‘We’re competing with TNT and USA and ESPN,’ he says.”

So the boss admits that channels that are plainly entertainment and sports are his competition, not other news outlets. There’s a good reason for this. Entertainment routinely trounces news in the ratings. By dressing up the more staid genre of journalism as a sexier breed of programming, Fox hopes to attract larger, more loyal audiences.

Another Fox source confirmed this tactic, ironically in the form of criticism of rival news networks. On Bill O’Reilly’s show, former CBS reporter Bernie Goldberg sought to explain why CNN and MSNBC were losing to Fox. His reasoning was that “Liberal news media violate the cardinal rule of all media. They’re not entertaining.” His point being that Fox had solved that “problem” by abandoning journalistic ethics and playing to their audience’s emotions.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Now, with Fox’s own promotions of a new primetime show, they have finally abandoned any pretense of being a news operation. If a network characterizes itself as entertainment, you might as well take their word for it. Wouldn’t they know? And in the Era of Trump a network populated by faux journalists fits neatly into the latest media trend: Fake News.


You Are Not Alone: New Poll Reveals America’s Deep Disapproval Of Donald Trump

Posted by on January 13, 2017 at 2:57 pm. 4 Comments :

With only one week remaining until Donald Trump’s inauguration, the mood of the American people has descended into an unprecedented funk. Trump has succeeded in making history as the most disliked President-Elect on record. And at a time when new presidents enjoy a honeymoon period, Americans seem more inclined to seek a divorce.

Lawrence O'Donnell MSNBC

On Thursday’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” the MSNBC host revealed the results of a brand new Quinnipiac Poll. Suffice to say that Trump will not be retweeting it, except to call everyone involved losers and liars. The poll shows how deeply dissatisfied the nation is with The Donald. In virtually every question posed by the pollsters Trump was seriously underwater. For instance:

  • On Trump’s cabinet nominees: Disapprove: 40%, Approve 30%.
  • On AG nominee Jeff Sessions: Disapprove: 34%, Approve 29%.
  • On Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson: Disapprove: 35%, Approve 23%.
  • On confidence that Trump will make things better: Not very/At all: 53%, Very/Somewhat: 44%.
  • On whether Trump will unite or divide the country: Divide: 54%, Unite: 40%.
  • Can you relate to Trump: No: 68% (including 35% of Republicans), Yes: 30%.
  • Is Trump honest: No: 53%, Yes: 39%.
  • On handling PEOTUS responsibilities: Disapprove:51%, Approve:37%.
  • On Trump’s job approval: Unfavorable: 51%, Favorable: 37%. A decline since the election.
  • On keeping his personal Twitter account: No: 64%, Yes: 32%.
  • On whether Trump will be a better president than Obama: Worse: 45%, Better 34%.
  • On what kind of president Trump will be: Bad/Not so good: 52%, Good/Great: 42%.

In every instance Trump not only fared poorly, he underperformed his election results. And as we know, he lost the popular vote by a historic margin of nearly three million votes. By comparison, the poll asked about President Obama’s job approval which stands at 55% favorable and 39% unfavorable. That’s a seven year high for Obama in this poll.

This poll makes clear that Trump has utterly failed to coalesce the country around his agenda of division and hate. His preliminary steps as PEOTUS have only further alienated the public. Rather than draining the swamp, Trump is stocking it with alligators from Goldman Sachs, celebrities from Fox News, and arch-conservatives from congress and business. And news about his unsavory associations with Russia aren’t helping either.

The conclusion drawn by O’Donnell is that “You are not alone.” Americans who have been grieving for their country and the state of its democracy are in the majority. Trump’s administration will begin without any hint of a mandate. Consequently, there is opportunity for the resistance to obstruct his agenda. But for that to happen, people need to be motivated, informed, and active. For more on that see the Indivisible Guide.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.