Is he Donald The Deflector? Maybe Donald The Diverter? Why would the President take on America’s pro athletes and its most popular game? This morning's tweets bashing the NFL may be less about defending the flag than Donald Trump diverting attention from his failures. Healthcare reform is about to tank (again), his administration has zero significant legislative accomplishments, his candidate for Senate in Alabama is about to lose and the border wall remains something Trump can only dream about.
Meanwhile, Mike Allen at Axios says NFL and NBA players are just the latest in a long line of Trump targets:
“Opinionated athletes have a lot of company. Other than white, straight, Christian men, it's hard to think of a group President Trump hasn't offended or attacked as a candidate or in office.
Be smart: Trump's mostly white, mainly rural, majority-male base clearly laps this up — and he knows it.”
Meanwhile, a new poll from ABCNews + Washington Post finds Donald Trump with historically low approval ratings. It also shows most Americans don't want to go to war with North Korea and don't trust Trump can handle the threat responsibly. Here's more from ABC:
"Views on North Korea underscore trepidations about Trump on the global stage. Even as a record number of Americans see North Korea as a threat, the public by a wide 62-37 percent does not trust Trump to act responsibly in handling the situation. Compare that with trust in U.S. military leaders; at 72 percent, it’s about double the level of trust in their commander-in-chief.
But Trump faces equal difficulties at home. His approval rating is the lowest of any president at eight months in office in polling back 71 years. The public by 66-28 percent says he’s done more to divide than to unite the country."
By Gary Langer
