Given the tangible and substantial damage President Trump continues to do to the United States, the latest Gallup Presidential Approval poll made me start wondering.
As you can see on the right, the Disapproval line set a new high of 62% and the Approval line set a new low of 33% a few days ago, a plunge I (and I’m sure everyone else) attributes to the indictments of Manafort and Gates, as well as the guilty plea of Papadopolous. The fact that Trump hired and worked closely with those accused of high crimes, and another who actively plead guilty, brings to mind a certain concern that he hasn’t the judgment of character necessary to run an effective Administration.
And then we’ve seen a helluva recovery in his numbers, which I believe to be the result of the terror incident in New York City. It’s a well-known phenomenon that at times of public danger, there’s a rallying effect around the President.
So I’m left wondering if the United States is being deliberately prodded to keep President Trump in power. Every day he does more and more damage to the most powerful country in the world, whether it’s nominating another judge so extreme that even the GOP Senators are disgusted by them, or blundering about in the Mideast, or frantically trying to disassemble the ACA (a blow to the health of the citizens of the nation is a blow to the nation), or attacking the laws and norms which have made this Nation strong, or all of a number of foolish stunts he’s pulled.
I have no doubt that our adversaries and our enemies keep a very close eye on us, and the election of President Trump came as a golden opportunity for them. He’s been quite the productive gold mine for them, and if they have any sanity about them, they’ll try to keep them there. The 30% approval rating is probably the point at which Trump is considered to be in imminent danger of impeachment, and the plunge looked worrisome. So what does it cost them to sacrifice a single soldier in their cause? Pick one out, have him take a shot at causing terror, and, hey, look, Trump is back up to 39%. That’s a safe level, they no doubt muttered among themselves.
Sadly, we’ll probably never actually discover whether this is true, and I doubt it’d have much of a counter-effect. But as terror attacks continue, keep it in mind. We really need to dig out the tick before we all catch Lyme Disease – or something worse.
