Those who continue to back former President Donald Trump have a deep attachment to the man himself, and continue to revere the social change he brought with him as candidate, president and political influence. These loyalists believe that the idea behind “make America great again — MAGA — remains vibrant and active, and the intense popularity of Mr. Trump‘s public events still resonates with his fans.
“The Trump rally gives life back to the MAGA movement. Many patriotic, strong Americans needed that. They are the silent majority who have been censored, canceled and monitored because they liked President Trump and believed in America-first values. It is a movement that he shed light upon and life into. It already existed in the hearts and minds of those people,” Priscilla Confrey tells Inside the Beltway.
She was co-founder of New Jersey Women for Trump, a private grassroots interest group that sprang out of nowhere in 2020, accrued some 30,000 members and continues to grow.
“The mood of Trump fans these days is one of concern. Concern that our nation is being taken over and erased, and that corruption will never be dealt with. Concern that our Supreme Court will be threatened and controlled into making unjust decisions, and concern about our biased media and the state of voter integrity,” she continued — also citing the crisis on the southern U.S. border.
The political realm, Ms. Confrey notes, has granted both the news media and social media too much power — which she says could compromise “the foundation and fabric of this great nation.”
The culture that the 45th president launched is thriving, in the meantime.
“The Trump rallies give hope and energy back to the people, to the grassroots. It was never really about Donald Trump, the person. It’s about the United States of America and love of country,” Ms. Confrey says.
“I can tell you that New Jersey Women for Trump has been growing substantially with new members every day — at a rate of about 700 a week. The members joining are all political affiliations, and they include lots of Democrats who think their party has sold out to the far Left,” she continues.
“These members love America. They are grassroots patriots. The Trump rallies are energizing them, giving them hope and smothering their fear. Their spirits are lifted. They are determined to never give up — and to hold the line gracefully for this great nation of America,” Ms. Confrey concludes.
A MOMENT WITH JIM ACOSTA
Rep. Mo Brooks was recently just outside the U.S. Capitol, preparing to call it a day and ride home on his bicycle. Then who should appear but CNN correspondent Jim Acosta — with a cameraman and a list of questions centered on the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“Congressman, is there any way we can get you to talk about Jan. 6?” Mr. Acosta called out, his efforts caught on camera and later used in a CNN news segment that aired Sunday.
“I do not do interviews with CNN because I do not trust CNN to be honorable or truthful,” the Alabama Republican replied.
Mr. Acosta inquired again.
“I’ve already said what I’m going to say. I don’t trust you all to be truthful or honest,” Mr. Brooks advised.
Mr. Acosta asked for a third time, prompting the lawmaker to simply ride off.
“You guys will lie through your teeth any chance you get,” he called to the newsman.
SOME GENUINE CHALLENGES FOR BIDEN
“Rising worries about crime among both Democrats and Republicans are starting to create a drag on President Biden’s approval rating, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll — and could signal larger challenges for the president’s party ahead of the 2022 midterm elections,” reports Andrew Romano, a Yahoo News analyst.
A majority of the respondents — 55% — said the violent crime was a “very big problem” in the U.S., outweighing concern for the economy (41%), along with race reasons and political correctness — (both 39%) — and the pandemic, cited by 36%.
Public concern for crime is up 6 percentage points from a similar Yahoo poll conducted last month — even among Mr. Biden’s fans.
“Last month, 45% of Democrats described violent crime as a very big problem. Now that number is 8 percentage points higher at 53%” Mr. Romano noted.
“At the same time, 47% of Americans now disapprove of the way Biden is handling crime, up from 43% last month; just 36% approve.”
The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,592 U.S. adults from June 22 to 24.
THE HISTORIANS HAVE A SAY
The ever-vigilant C-SPAN will soon release its fourth “Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership” — which relies on the judgment of, yes, presidential historians to make that determination. Past surveys were conducted in 2000, 2009 and 2017.
“Where will Donald Trump rank in his survey debut? Which presidents hold the top/bottom ranks? How has the ranking of our most recent presidents changed since their debut year?” the public affairs channel asks.
“A cross-section of 142 presidential historians ranked the 44 former occupants of the White House on 10 attributes of leadership and an overall ranking of all presidents. They provide the first look at how outgoing presidents fare in the eyes of presidential historians,” C-SPAN notes.
The list will be released Wednesday.
POLL DU JOUR
• 74% of people around the world say there is “tension” between rich and poor in their country.
• 69% say there is tension between political parties; 67% cite social classes.
• 66% cite tension between immigrants and people born in their country; 65% cite tension between liberals and progressives and those with traditional values.
• 62% cite different ethnicities, 62% cite elites and working people, 57% cite differences in religions.
• 48% cite tension between men and women, 47% cite educational differences, 46% cite tensions between the “old and young,” 42% cite city populations and those outside cities.
Source: A global IPSOS poll released Friday of 23,004 adults conducted Dec. 23, 2020, to Jan. 8, 2021. The poll was released Friday.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
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