NEWS AND OPINION:
The mighty Trump voter gets some significant analysis. “The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics,” by astute syndicated columnist Salena Zito and veteran GOP strategist Brad Todd arrives Tuesday, revealing the authentic spirit and iron-willed determination of some 63 million voters who brought President Trump victory at the polls in 2016.
“Trump’s candidacy would not only defy conventional labeling; the coalition it attracted would be forged on an entirely new axis, welding together the conservative bloc that had become almost chemically opposed to Hillary Clinton with an emerging populist cohort that voted based on its assessment of its own economic and cultural condition,” the authors write.
The book‘s many chapters include “Hidden in Plain Sight” and “Red-Blooded and Blue-Collared,” all based on real reporting. The two authors traveled 27,000 miles and talked to 300 Trump voters in critical swing states.
“Virtually every political and media expert missed the potential of Donald Trump because they based their electoral calculus on assumptions that they hadn’t bothered to check since the last presidential election. To recognize the potential of the Trump coalition, analysts would have had to visit places they had stopped visiting, and listen to people they had stopped listening to,” the authors note.
The book has received accolades from the likes of President Trump himself and Rush Limbaugh, among many others. The publisher is Crown Forum, the conservative imprint of Penguin Random House that also publishes authors such as Ann Coulter and Charles Krauthammer.
THE MELANIA PRESS
Though there were a couple of glaring exceptions, the news media offered fair or neutral coverage of first lady Melania Trump‘s new initiative to help children, which she shared with poise and purpose in the White House Rose Garden on Monday. President Trump attended the event, and the couple shared more than one affectionate moment, caught on camera during the live national broadcast. A few headlines to mull in the aftermath:
“In traditional first-lady style, Melania Trump unveils ‘Be Best’ initiative” (NPR); “Why Melania is winning in the court of public opinion” (CNN); “Melania Trump announces children’s initiative amid reports of marital disunity” (NBC News); “Melania Trump steps into higher profile role at the White House” (Politico); “Melania Trump is forging her own path as First Lady, in spite of her husband” (Huffington Post).
HASPEL: ‘CAPABLE AND DISTINGUISHED’
“Democrats’ obsession with opposing President Trump on all fronts, no matter the merits, opens a new phase this week as CIA Director-designate Gina Haspel goes before the Senate Intelligence Committee. That there’s any opposition at all to this supremely qualified candidate only underscores just how petty and partisan the Democrats have become,” says The New York Post editorial board of Ms. Haspel, who has a 33-year career in clandestine operations.
“Haspel would be not only the first woman to head the CIA, but also the first career officer in 52 years to rise through the ranks directly to the director’s chair. Little wonder that she’s won the enthusiastic support of past CIA directors from both parties, including several of Trump’s fiercest critics,” the board continued.
“She has headed four CIA stations across the globe, been a senior official in the CIA’s Russia operation, held several top roles in the division responsible for covert operations and, post-9/11, was a senior-level supervisor in counterterrorism. Her integrity — and, significantly, her political impartiality — are unchallenged. Other than the name of the guy who nominated her, the only gripe against her is that, in the post-9/11 hunt to destroy al Qaeda, she reportedly was involved in the CIA’s black-site interrogation of terrorist suspects,” the editorial said.
“Yet two of the more serious accusations against her were retracted by the news site that initially made them. And, as [National Review editor] Rich Lowry has noted, this was no rogue operation. It was approved at the highest levels and took place in the aftermath of the deadliest foreign attack on U.S. soil. To punish Haspel for that is unfair; to reject her in protest of an official policy from two presidents ago is remarkably tawdry. Gina Haspel, quite simply, is one of Trump’s most capable and distinguished appointments. She deserves quick confirmation — without partisan theatrics.”
NO, NO NANCY IN GRANITE STATE
New Hampshire Democrats do not appear eager to support House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her potential quest to regain her old job on Capitol Hill.
“There are a whopping nine Democrats running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District to replace liberal stalwart Carol Shea-Porter. How many are publicly supporting Nancy Pelosi for House speaker? Zero,” reports Michael Graham, political editor of the New Hampshire Journal who said the wide spectrum of candidates includes Levi Sanders — son of Sen. Bernie Sanders — and Maura Sullivan, a former Obama administration official.
“They all have one thing in common: None say they’ll vote to make Nancy Pelosi House speaker,” says Mr. Graham. “Could it be that Democrats aren’t quite as confident of a blue wave — even in purple New Hampshire — as they claim?”
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A KIWI
Hillary Clinton gave a speech in New Zealand on Monday, her words parsed by the Republican National Committee video analysis.
“I want to thank some of you for sending good wishes a very long way during my campaign and the months that followed. I received a number of invitations from Kiwis to permanently relocate here. I must say, I really did appreciate the offers — and gave them some thought. But I’m going to stay put, because we have work to do in my country,” Mrs. Clinton said.
Indeed. Mrs. Clinton already has launched a new political organization called Onward Together, and later this month will host the Clinton Foundation Gala, a fundraiser, with former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton.
POLL DU JOUR
• 57 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of first lady Melania Trump; 85 percent of Republicans, 56 percent of independents and 38 percent of Democrats agree.
• 27 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Mrs. Trump; 7 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of independents and 40 percent of Democrats agree.
• 11 percent have “no opinion” about Mrs. Trump; 6 percent of Republicans, 10 percent of independents and 16 percent of Democrats agree.
• 5 percent have never heard Mrs. Trump or are undecided; 3 percent of Republicans, 5 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A CNN/SSRS poll of 1,015 U.S. adults conducted May 3-5.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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