Day 75 gives us reason to hope that persuadables are waking up.
Reality has been banging on their heads begging to be let in, and look! Some of them have opened up their eyes:
President Trump's Approval Ratings Just Hit Another Low
Donald Trump's Approval Ratings as President Hit 35%
Trump Slump Continues As He Drops Below Obama
Trump more unpopular than Obama ever was
DJT’s Latest Approval Rating Plunges as White Male Supporters Flee the President
Trump is Beating Previous Presidents at being Unpopular
A majority of voters are embarrassed by President Trump
Remember how DJT used to open every stump speech with a monologue about polls?
You don’t?
Well good for you, because that means you managed to avoid watching DJT on the stump.
Or you blanked out all memory of the 2016 primary campaign, which works also.
He had a section of his stump speech, sometimes at the very beginning, where he would give a recitation of all the polls that showed him with a lead, and then go on and on about how far ahead he was from his nearest Rcon competitors, and how low their poll numbers were. His crowds loved it, he loved it, it was a highlight of his public appearances in the spring of 2016.
Sometimes he would say he was ahead in every single poll, in every single category—a GOPropaganda statement with many different layers. Certainly there was never a poll showing him ahead with black voters in general or with women of color in particular. But there were some odd polls showing him ahead with black *Republicons*, and that may explain his extremely strange claims that he was going to “win 95% of the black vote” in his re-election campaign.
Once the general election began, any polls showing Hillary in the lead were “fake news”. Then he started preparing his base for a loss by claiming the election was rigged.
Little did we know at the time that it *was* rigged, but in his favor…
When was the last time you heard DJT say *anything* about polls? Even to denounce them as “fake news”? As his approval numbers drop, the silence from the White House is deafening.
This means one of two things.
(1) His staff is managing to hide the information from him. This might not be hard, because he avoids reality-based sources, and I’m sure they aren’t talking about this on Fakes News. They make sure he does not read articles about these latest polls, or see news coverage about the Russian flag with “Impeach Trump #Resist” that was unfurled on Opening Day at Nationals Park in DC.
(2) He knows about it and he is FURIOUS. He’s furious because nothing is ever his fault and he is frustrated that he cannot find someone else to blame for these falling poll numbers.
He’s blaming Paul Ryan for holding the TrumpCare vote saying that he never wanted the vote, just days after he sent administration spokesbots to the Hill with an “ultimatum” that it was time to vote.
He’s blaming the FreeDumb Caucus for the failure of TrumpCare, not realizing that his approval rating would be EVEN LOWER if Rs had succeeded in repealing Obamacare and replacing it with the inferior/non-existent R plan.
No matter what he tries, the deflector-in-Chief can’t stay away from the news forever and can’t force people to like him.
The scattered grumblings of disagreement and boos when DJT assumed that all the people at the building trades conference had voted for him seemed to surprise him a little. He honestly thought that most of the people in the room had voted for him? Srsly? Their union endorsed Hillary. Early. (December 2015)
My fervent wish for the last 25 days of the first 100 days is that reality will begin to break in for DJT just as it seems to be breaking in for regretful DJT voters, who are turning against him in every category. Read this and do the opposite of weep! (Enjoy full crosstabs of the April 4 Quinnipiac poll here)
- Men disapprove 51 - 39 percent.
- White voters disapprove 48 - 43 percent.
- Women disapprove 63 - 31 percent.
- Independents disapprove 57 - 32 percent.
American voters' opinions of some of Trump's personal qualities are mostly negative. Respondents agree:
- 61 - 34 percent that he is not honest;
- 55 - 40 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
- 57 - 39 percent that he does not care about average Americans;
- 66 - 29 percent that he is not level-headed;
- 61 - 34 percent that he does not share their values.
Opinions on key issues:
- Disapprove 64 - 28 percent for the way he is handling healthcare;
- Disapprove 61 - 29 percent of the way he is handling the environment;
- Disapprove 48 - 41 percent of the way he is handling the economy;
- Disapprove 58 - 33 percent of the way he is handling foreign policy;
- Disapprove 49 - 42 percent of the way he is handling terrorism;
- Disapprove 57 - 39 percent of the way he is handling immigration issues.
He is ahead with no college white males still, but only by 3 points (!!!). On election day he won white men by 31 points: ten times that (62%-31%). I like that trend line!
Best part of all this, DJT has got to be freaking out his approval numbers have gone below Obama’s lowest rating. People think the black guy was a better president? You just *know* this is driving him around the twist!
My only worry is that he might do something drastic to bring up his poll numbers, and I don’t mean making a GOPropaganda movie. Be careful about tails of dogs and how they wag.
This is a psychological weapon of tremendous power. We must use this.
LOSER is the one label he resists most strongly and he will resist this data as long as he can.
But we are not trying to persuade HIM.
We are trying to reach the persuadable slice of the electorate who are willing to reconsider their 2016 votes.
We want to persuade them to vote differently at the presidential level in 2020.
We also want to persuade them to help handcuff the worst of what DJT would like to do by winning some special elections and putting a wave election together in 2018.
If we take back the House in 2018, impeachment hearings better immediately follow.
We want DJT to look at these falling approval numbers and let the worry about not being re-elected germinate in his mind.
There must be some way to get these numbers in front of his eyes.
We can’t count on the press, at least not the stations and hosts he watches.
If he steps out of his bubble, and you have a chance to confront him in person as he moves between car and building, be the one who starts the booing (or the 35% chant) at the most opportune time. Make a sign that just says 35% in the biggest numbers you can manage (and maybe it will go even lower).
We may also be able to reach him through Twitter. Perhaps when we see poll info like this, we can tweet it out and encourage others to retweet it. That might be the best way to make sure DJT gets the message that he is deeply, deeply unpopular. Maybe we can get the #Obamasisbigger hashtag started up again. Provoking a snotty jealous reaction from DJT will let us know we got under his skin.
If anyone knows a way to get this to Dem strategists and spokespeople, DJT’s falling poll numbers need to be a central part of our message discipline for the next few days. Remind viewers and listeners that he only has 35% approval rating at EVERY opportunity.
Do not wait for a question about poll numbers to work it in. Make it part of your first answer regardless of what the question was. And circle back and mention it again close to the end of your interview segment.
A president with approval this low is not in a position to be making demands of D Senators that they give him anything he wants.
Scaredy-cat Dems in red states need to be confronted with the reality that they are abandoning D party discipline to please DJT voters in their states who may already be changing their minds about him. Heitkamp in North Dakota, Manchin in West Virginia, and Donnelly in Indiana need to look at these trend lines and decide whether they will be better off mollifying DJT on the Gorsuch vote (and other matters to come) or standing against him with other Dems in a show of unity.
This poll is the first data supporting the idea that the number of persuadables is growing. Their eyes are opening. DJT is not building the wall. He is not bringing back the coal industry. He did not fix the immigration problems on day one. HRC is not locked up. They do not feel safer.
His voters are slowly catching on to what the rest of us knew all along.
They are beginning to understand that he is just like the folks in the swamp he promised to drain.
They are beginning to see that he is a liar, and worse, he actually lied TO THEM.
It was OK when they thought DJT was just lying to “those people” to get elected, but he broke his promises to THEM. So his poll numbers are tanking and it is hard to think of any way he could get them going in the other direction. If this keeps up I don’t know how he can make it to 2018, much less 2020.
And if you don’t know, now you know, Mr. President.
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: Blue Ribbons for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: Ribbons: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: Ribbons: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: Blue Ribbon Winners—Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: True Blue Ribbons: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: Blue Ribbon Winners—Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: Blue Ribbon Winners—Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: Blue Ribbon Winners—Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: Blue Ribbon Winners—Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense