Reports out of the White House say that Donald Trump is “completely overwhelmed by the most frightened, chaotic, dysregulated part of himself,” according to the man who ghostwrote The Art of the Deal for the president, Tony Schwartz. That is not a very comforting thought — to know the ship ‘s navigator is out of control.
The president has mishandled the coronavirus pandemic until the nation has nearly three million cases and 132,000 deaths. Rather than use common sense and unfold the economy gradually, POTUS has tossed each state the responsibility. Unfortunately, this president’s tactic has been to pretend the COVID-19 did not exist. Yet, people knew.
Trump strutted about with a naked face and politicized mask-wearing into an us versus them attitude Only liberals wore masks, he claimed. It appeared that his macho sickness-is-weakness approach will leave nearly 150,000 dead by month’s end.
His mishandling of this pandemic has hit some of his best supporters right in the heart. True, Trump has stood on an antiabortion platform, which has appealed to many Protestant conservatives, including those in the Catholic religion and evangelicals.
Yet, these religious groups have also watched as the commander-in-chief has shown his most base racist instincts. Schartz said that right now:
‘[He is]almost literally a child in the middle of an endless temper tantrum.He can’t find a way to soothe himself so he can’t soothe anyone else.’
About 72 percent of evangelical Protestants still approve of how he has been doing according to a June 16 through 22 Pew Research Center poll. That was a surprising six percentage point drop since April. The number of evangelicals who “very strongly” approval of Trump’s job has bottomed out at 59 percent thus far. That was also down six points from 67 percent in April.
Pope Francis called George Floyd by name twice, according to the PEW Poll:
‘[F]rom the pope on down, it (the church) is seeking to encourage anti-racism protesters while making a clear statement about where American Catholics should stand ahead of President Donald Trump’s bid for a second term in November.’
According to CBS, Pope Francis referred to the “sin of racism:”
‘Last week, Francis denounced the “sin of racism” and twice identified Floyd as the victim of a “tragic” killing. In a message read in Italian and English during his general audience, Francis expressed concerns about violence during the protests, saying it was self-destructive.’
Then Pope Francis added:
‘We cannot close our eyes to any form of racism or exclusion, while pretending to defend the sacredness of every human life.’
He was referring to “some conservative Catholics” who use the abortion issue as “paramount, yet other “life” issues have been important to Pople Francis. They include:
‘[R]acism, immigration, the death penalty and poverty — play second fiddle at the ballot box.’
Granted Pope Francis upheld the church’s opposition to abortion. The polls show a more American Catholics “support significant restrictions on legal abortion.”
A full 82 percent of white evangelical Protestants registered to vote still lean toward voting for him. Yet, 17 percent said that they would vote for the Democrat’s presumptive candidate former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming election. Immediately after the 2016 election, that number was 77 percent.
Only 16 percent voted to Hillary Clinton. Her harsh campaign and what sometimes came across as a sense of entitlement to the president’s office was off-putting. Whereas Biden has been equally embedded in the Washington D.C. politics, his approach has been more along the lines of a protective father.
The June poll happened after Trump visited St. John’s Episcopal Church on June 1 and during the Supreme Court’s LGBTQ ruling. One of the president’s appointees to SCOTUS Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion for protecting gay, lesbian, and transgender employees by means of the nondiscrimination laws, according to the Pew Poll.
Granted, the president’s support among white evangelical Protestestans still remained strong. This group has tended to be “very religious and overwhelmingly Republican”. At the same time, these voters have not liked the former vice president.
A significant number, 26 percent, think that Biden would make a “poor” president A full 49 percent think he would be a “terrible” president. Just 16 percent indicate he would make an “average” president. Among white evangelicals, a mere two percent think he would be “great,” and seven percent say he would be “good.
Compare that to Trump’s 34 percent “good” and 35 percent “great among the same group of individuals.
White evangelical Protestants have been Trump’s most supportive religious group, his standing among most Christian groups has dropped recently. He has taken in support from at least half of “other white Christians:”
‘More than half of white Protestants who do not identify as evangelical (56%) say they approve of the job Trump is doing, as do 54% of white Catholics – and roughly six-in-ten voters in these groups say they would vote for him if the election were held today. Again, Biden does not instill confidence in many of these white Christians; just one-in-five white Protestants who are not evangelical (19%) and white Catholics (21%) say that Biden would make a good or great president.’
Vast numbers of Black Protestants 83% percent, Hispanic Catholics 74 percent, and religiously unaffiliated Americans 74 percent disapproved of this president. Black Protestants’ disapproval ratings of Trump were down three percent from last April. That put them in a similar position as he had in January. At that time, 10 percent approved of the president and 87 percent disapproved. Just eight percent of Black Protestants would vote for Trump today. A full 88 percent would vote for Biden.
Black Protestants have been one of the most ardent blocks of supporters, and they have identified as Democraats or Democratically leaning independents. About half of the group think Biden would make a good president, 54 percent. Thirty-four percent think he would make a great president, and 36 percent say he would be just an average president. A full 80 percent of Black Protestants indicated that Trump was a poor president. Then, 63 percent consider him a terrible president.
The religiously unaffiliated Americans, a strong Biden block, identified as “atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular.” Less than a third of this group thought Biden would be a good or great president 27 percent. Then, 39 percent indicated he would rank average, and 33 percent though he would be poor to terrible. Seventy-three percent would vote for him today.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order
