Geoff Bennett:
A new poll puts President Trump’s approval rating at an all-time high. Meanwhile, the president escalates his feud with the Ukrainian president.
Our Politics Monday team is here to discuss this and much more. We have Tamara Keith from NPR and Carrie Dann from The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. Amy Walter is away tonight.
It’s great to see you both.
Tamara Keith, National Public Radio:
It’s good to be here.
Geoff Bennett:
So let’s start with this latest new national poll. You have The Wall – excuse me – the Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll. This puts President Trump’s approval rating at just 33%, the lowest rate in any term. And Democrats have an eight-point advantage heading into November.
So, Tam, how much of a handicap is this for Republicans in the voting? I know you have new reports.
TamaraKeith:
Yes, in September, President Trump hosted a dinner in the Rose Garden with about 30 Republicans competing in competitive races. And at that dinner, he promised that he would visit all of their neighborhoods. He was going to go to 35 competitive districts and help those members just by showing up.
Well, my analysis of his travels since that time is that he has been to less than a third of those districts, and instead he has been to many very red states and districts. Part of that is because he’s a liability in swing races, and part of it is because he likes the warm embrace of a rally in a place where they really love him.
He claims he’s going to say thank you. But part of that is simply because the map has changed, so areas that we weren’t even really talking about a few months ago are now considered competitive races.
Geoff Bennett:
And, Carrie, where are you watching most closely to assess where this election is going and whether all of these polls are actually true or accurate?
Carrie Dann, Editor, The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter:
One of the numbers I found most fascinating in that Washington Post poll was about Republicans.
And the way The Post broke it down was Republicans affiliated with MAGA, and then Republicans saying, “I’m affiliated as a Republican, but I’m not really in the MAGA movement.” Among MAGA Republicans, Donald Trump’s approval rating is 94 percent. Basically, all of these people are big fans of the president.
But among this other group of Republicans who aren’t part of the MAGA movement, it barely breaks even. Nearly half of these voters disapprove of him.
And, to your point, I think one of the trickiest things that Republicans try to do is tell these people, disgruntled Republicans, hey, you need to hold your nose and show up in November and vote for a candidate, even if you’re not crazy about the president, without turning off that 94 percent approval rating among MAGA people. to other Republicans in the state, hey, you may not like the president right now, but you need to show up for your team.
Geoff Bennett:
And, Tam, Democrats seem to have momentum, even in states – as Liz just pointed out, states like Ohio, that have gone Republican in recent elections. How do you interpret this?
TamaraKeith:
Yes, Ohio is a fascinating state.
This is, according to AdImpact data, the most expensive state in this Senate race among all Senate races beginning September 1 through Election Day. Huge amounts of money are being poured into this state.
What’s fascinating is that there are, in a way, two incumbents and two non-incumbents at the same time, because Jon Husted didn’t win the seat. He was named. And a lot of people still think Sherrod Brown is a senator from Ohio.
Geoff Bennett:
Well, in the time we have left, let’s focus on Ukraine, as President Trump escalates his confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There’s this dispute over access to important satellite communications that are used by the military there.
The president blamed Ukraine for the rise in gas prices in that country. What is driving the president’s increasingly hostile posture toward Ukraine and its leader?
Carrie Dann:
Well, I think you’ve justified him trying to draw a line between Ukraine and high gas prices.
I think it may be a little late to do this in a credible way to voters. I think voters have drawn a very clear line between the Iranian conflict and high gas prices. He may be trying to divert attention by talking about this other conflict.
But I looked back. You mentioned AdImpact. I looked at the ad spending around the Ukraine and Russia issue this cycle, $2 million. For Iran and gas prices, we’re at around $80 million. So clearly the policy is not that voters really care about this issue. I think what he’s trying to do is tie this to gas prices and tie high gas prices to Joe Biden, instead of decisions made by his administration.
Geoff Bennett:
How do you see it, based on your reporting?
TamaraKeith:
Well, voters very clearly associate it with the war in Iran. They draw this direct line. The president certainly – I’ve covered him for years. He often looked for reasons to escalate the situation or fight with Zelensky. This isn’t really new. This is certainly a new front in this area, but it is often in conflict with Zelenskyy.
And so this is a moment where he throws a lot of spaghetti at a lot of walls. In this case, making a deal or announcing that Russia will sell diesel to the United States, no one expects that to actually lower diesel prices, but it speaks to the fact that the president is trying to show that he is working on this issue that is actually a very big issue for a lot of people.
Geoff Bennett:
We still have one more topic and we have one minute left. I’ll see if I can fit that in, but here we go.
So President Trump is turning his attention to this public golf course in our own backyard here in Washington, DC. His administration wants to renovate this historic East Potomac course. This sparked a legal battle, as we reported earlier in the show.
Is the real story here less about a golf course and more about who decides the fate of a public land?
Carrie Dann:
I think it’s cumulative. I’m not sure voters outside of DC know much about this issue, but I think it speaks to the idea that he, in many of these cases, whether it’s the ballroom at the Kennedy Center or the East Wing of the White House or this golf course, has crossed benchmarks or guardrails against the things he’s trying to do.
It’s, I think, a metaphor for a lot of things people feel about the president. I don’t know if it’s a major issue that resonates, but cumulatively he chooses to spend his time there as well.
TamaraKeith:
Yeah, I mean, I think we’ve seen in the polls for months, and literally a text from one of the influential voters that I contact all the time earlier today, saying, why is the president focused on a golf course? Why is he focusing on beautification projects, when people literally have to choose between paying their heating bill and their grocery bill?
Geoff Bennett:
Two wonderful journalists and broadcast professionals. We did it.
(LAUGH)
Geoff Bennett:
Tamara Keith, Carrie Dann, thanks again.
TamaraKeith:
You are welcome.
Carrie Dann:
THANKS.
Gn usa
