Is Trump Doing A Good Job

Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget

Experts also debate how effective tax cuts are at inducing economic growth. Tax cuts are often considered an expensive way to create jobs. Historically, tax cuts haven’t created enough new jobs to finance themselves, so the verdict is still out on whether Trump’s 2017 tax cuts will ultimately help the economy.

Is Trump Doing A Good Job Containing The Covid Threat Poll Shows Mixed Results

• Most people look favorable at face masks
• Most also say theyd get vaccinated
• Dr. Fauci gets high marks in a Fox News survey

A majority of Americans have a negative opinion of the government’s response to the coronavirus, according to a recent poll conducted by Fox News.

A survey of 1,007 U.S. adults found 56% of respondents said the government did not take the threat seriously enough. Thats relatively consistent with the 54% of respondents who said the same in a survey from early August.

Only 23% said the country moved in the right direction, down 6% from those expressing a similar opinion in August.

The survey found 44% of the respondents said President Trump was doing a good job at handling the pandemic. For President-elect Joe Biden, that sentiment jumps to 60% and its at 74% for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.

The first vaccinations against COVID-19 took place in the United Kingdom last week. The United States followed suit Monday with the first doses from Pfizer/BioNTech.

Trump has consistently downplayed the seriousness of a viral infection that has claimed more than 300,000 American lives, despite his own brief hospital stay for COVID complications.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the U.S. is in the grips of the fourth wave of infections. The CDC recorded 42,594 new cases on April 6, the height of the first wave. There were 181,032 new cases reported Monday.

The Rising Dollar Is Responsible For Growing Trade Deficits

U.S. manufacturing was struggling long before COVID-19. Starting in 2014, the U.S. dollar has appreciated in fits and starts, climbing nearly 23%, as shown in Figure C . More than half of that rise has come since the Trump tariffs were first imposed in March 2018. This stronger dollar keeps making U.S. exports more expensive and imports cheaper. Equally problematic, the 2017 Trump tax cuts on corporate profits incentivized offshoring for certain types of production while also raising after-tax profits. This has attracted more foreign capital to U.S. stock markets, spurring the dollar even higher. The dollar has also been driven higher during the coronavirus recession by safe haven effects, with foreign capital surging into the U.S.as it does during most global downturns.

The real value of the U.S. dollar has risen 22.7% since July 2014: Real value of the U.S. dollar, January 2006 to July 2020

Overvaluation of the dollar is one of the most important structural causes of growing U.S. trade deficits. In order to help rebalance U.S. trade flows, the dollar needs to fall 2530% overall on a real trade-weighted basis, and more against the currencies of surplus countries and areas such as China, the European Union, Japan, and Korea . The strength of the dollar was sustained by massive currency manipulation between 2000 and 2014 , but since then large private capital inflows to U.S. financial markets have continued the trend.

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Poll: Biden Expands Lead A Third Of Country Says It Won’t Get Vaccinated

“It just feels temporary,” Schneider says. “We just kind of paused the economy, as opposed to something mucking the system.”

As he drives around his home of Chesapeake in southeastern Virginia, Schneider is confident that a lot of people feel the same way.

“I have yet to see a single Biden sign in my entire city. I haven’t seen a bumper sticker. I haven’t seen anything Biden. But there’s Trump flags flying everywhere,” Schneider says. “My forecast is that Trump’s going to take this thing in a landslide.”

Ayres, the GOP pollster, is not so certain. Despite Trump’s solid grade on the economy, it may not be enough to save the president, come November.

“The coronavirus has driven out everything else,” Ayres says.

Trump’s overall approval rating is considerably lower than his economic marks, weighed down in part by his handling of the pandemic. And until there’s a solution for the coronavirus, Ayres says it’s going to be difficult for the economy to come roaring back.

New England Journal Of Medicine

The New England Journal of Medicine said the U.S. didn’t adequately test nor provide health care workers and the general public with enough protective equipment.

It also criticized the administration for handing off disease control to the states instead of launching a national strategy. As a result, social distancing directives were inconsistent. The resultant hotspots of infection kept many businesses closed, and raised unemployment levels.

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Restoring American Leadership Abroad

Restored Americas leadership in the world and successfully negotiated to ensure our allies pay their fair share for our military protection.

• Secured a $400 billion increase in defense spending from NATO allies by 2024, and the number of members meeting their minimum obligations more than doubled.
• Worked to reform and streamline the United Nations and reduced spending by $1.3 billion.
• Allies, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, committed to increase burden-sharing.
• Protected our Second Amendment rights by announcing the United States will never ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty.
• Returned 56 hostages and detainees from more than 24 countries.
• Worked to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region, promoting new investments and expanding American partnerships.

Advanced peace through strength.

Renewed our cherished friendship and alliance with Israel and took historic action to promote peace in the Middle East.

Stood up against Communism and Socialism in the Western Hemisphere.

Reduce Corporate And Investment Taxes

Trump’s tax plan, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. This was the lowest rate since 1939.

This change may not be as dramatic as it sounds, though. Most corporations make good use of legal deductions.

The Congressional Budget Office found that a more cost-effective method would be to cut business payroll taxes and increase unemployment aid. Governments should target any stimulus to small businesses, which produce 65% of all new private-sector jobs.

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Dennis Quaid Says Trump Is Doing A Good Job Against The Coronavirus

According to recent polls, the majority of Americans dont trust President Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Apparently, actor Dennis Quaid is not among them.

Given that Quaid has been an advocate for patient safety, The Daily Beasts Marlow Stern recently asked him for his thoughts on how the Trump administration is dealing with the pandemic. The actor said the president is doing a good job.

Well, to tell you the truth, I think the president is handling it in a good way. We see him on television every day. Hes involved, Quaid, 66, said. The actor was also quick to describe himself as an independent and noted that hes voted for both Republicans and Democrats throughout his life.

Stern clearly disagreed with the actors thoughts on Trump. Though the interview was about Quaids new podcast, The Dennissance, the two had a lengthy back-and-forth about what the administration is doing to flatten the coronavirus curve.

In response to a question about the lack of medical supplies facing many states, Quaid said, I think Trump, no matter what anybody thinks of him, is doing a good job at trying to get these states and all of the American people what they need, and also trying to hold our economy together and be prepared for when this is all over. I dont want to get into petty arguments about it.

*sees why Dennis Quaid is trending*

Why Many White Men Love Trumps Coronavirus Response

More than 80 percent of Republicans think the president is doing a great job with the pandemic. Heres why.

Kurtis, a young accountant in McKinney, Texas, likes the thing that many people hate about Donald Trump: that the president has left the pandemic response almost entirely up to local officials.

He left it up to each state to make their own decision on how they wanted to proceed, Kurtis told me recently. Most experts think the absence of a national strategy for tackling the coronavirus has been a disaster. But Kurtis argues that North Dakota, for example, shouldnt have to follow the same rules as New York City. Kurtis voted for Trump in 2016, and he plans to do so again this year.

Some 82 percent of Republicans approve of Trumps coronavirus responsea higher percentage than before the president was diagnosed with the virus. This is despite the fact that more than 220,000 Americans have died, and virtually every public-health expert, including those who have worked for Republican administrations, says the president has performed abysmally.

Experts offer a few different explanations for the spell that Trump has cast over his supporters. The simplest is that Trump voters like Trump, and as is often the case with people we like, he can do no wrong in their eyes. We might just as easily ask why Trump opponents think he is doing a horrible job with the pandemic, says Richard Harris, a political scientist at Rutgers University.

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Our Rating: Partly False

We rate this claim PARTLY FALSE. It is true that the economy added 2.5 million jobs in May and 4.8 million in June, which is staggering growth. However, looking at those numbers alone is misleading, lacking context about the overall state of the economy, which hasnt recovered from sharp job loss earlier in the year. The claim that this happened during COVID-19 lockdowns and massive violent riots also fails to take into account that most of the gains were from lockdowns ending and that the majority of protests were peaceful. Additionally, the comparison to other presidents doesnt look at the full picture of job growth under presidents, an area where Trump is not at the top of the pack.

Has Donald Trump Been To New York Since Ending His Presidency

Trump was seen leaving Trump Tower in Manhattan in the afternoon after spending two days to look under the hood of his family company that is under investigation by state prosecutors, The Daily Mail reported.

The 45th president had arrived at Trump Tower the night of March 7, with Security Service and New York Police Department personnel and was not spotted again until he departed on Tuesday.

It marked the first time Trump has visited New York City since he left the White House and moved to Florida.

On March 9, Secret Service and NYPD vehicles parked around the building as Trump waved to fans that gathered near his car.

Trumps son Donald Trump Jr trailed his father and got into another vehicle in the motorcade.

A source told the New York Daily News that Trump wanted to re-familiarize with the Trump Organization and his various business interests since returning to civilian life.

“Hes quite curious about his businesses and his employees, his organization, and is eager to look under the hood,” the source told the newspaper.

“Hes not entirely sure of the role he will play, but he misses it, for sure.”

Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance and New York state attorney general Letitia James have active investigations into Trumps business dealings.

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Tax Cut And Jobs Act Deregulation And National Debt

Even before the virus further exacerbated U.S. income inequality, some experts say Trumps economic policies favored the wealthy — and left the poor and middle class behind.

His Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 provided major tax breaks to corporations and wealthy individuals. The policy, among other things, reduced the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Frankel called the policy “beyond ironic” for a president “who campaigned in 2016 on being the champion of the working man or working person and campaigned on ‘draining the swamp’ in Washington.”

Shierholz said this policy “absolutely increased inequality” and the “vast majority of the benefits of those tax cuts went to the already very wealthy.”

The economists also noted that the policy came at a time when unemployment was relatively low and the economy in good shape.

“That’s not the time to be giving away trillions of dollars to the wealthy,” Frankel said. “When you have a bad shock like the global financial crisis of 2008-09 or like the coronavirus crisis that we’re still going through — that’s the time to increase government spending and expansionary fiscal policy, but you lose the ability to do that if you gave it away.”

NYU’s Bowmaker noted that some “can make the case that the corporate tax rate was a little bit too high” and would welcome the tax cuts.

Despite his goal, the debt has ballooned under Trump. The total national debt has skyrocketed by more than $7 trillion during Trumps tenure.

Combatting The Opioid Crisis

Brought unprecedented attention and support to combat the opioid crisis.

Took action to seize illegal drugs and punish those preying on innocent Americans.

• In FY 2019, ICE HSI seized 12,466 pounds of opioids including 3,688 pounds of fentanyl, an increase of 35 percent from FY 2018.
• Seized tens of thousands of kilograms of heroin and thousands of kilograms of fentanyl since 2017.
• The Department of Justice prosecuted more fentanyl traffickers than ever before, dismantled 3,000 drug trafficking organizations, and seized enough fentanyl to kill 105,000 Americans.
• DOJ charged more than 65 defendants collectively responsible for distributing over 45 million opioid pills.
• Brought kingpin designations against traffickers operating in China, India, Mexico, and more who have played a role in the epidemic in America.
• Indicted major Chinese drug traffickers for distributing fentanyl in the U.S for the first time ever, and convinced China to enact strict regulations to control the production and sale of fentanyl.

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What If Trumps Record On The Pandemic Is Better Than We Think

Trump defenders, heres your chance: Tell us why this response to Covid-19 merits a second term.

05/28/2020 04:30 AM EDT

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Altitude is a column by POLITICO founding editor John Harris, offering weekly perspective on politics in a moment of radical disruption.

Recently the philanthropist and public health advocate Melinda Gates sat down with POLITICO and was asked to assign a grade to President Donald Trump on his handling so far of the coronavirus crisis. Gates answer: D minus.

Say this much for Trump: He is not a grade-grubber. Nor is he a teachers pet. Gates surely did not like Trump or his policies long before the pandemic. For the sake of argument, lets very generously assume she was too harsh by two full grades. That still leaves him with a B minus.

That is not a grade that would cause an employer to move Trumps application to the top of the pile . If he already worked for you, Trump would be a ripe target for furlough

Trump does work for all of us, of course, and his response to the cataclysmic events of 2020 presumably will be the preoccupying question what else comes close? as voters this fall decide whether he continues to do so. At the moment that U.S. deaths have passed the 100,000 threshold, more than any other country, its fair to ask: By what rational standard could Trump pass this test?