Letters to the Editor: A poem read at Biden's inauguration rings truer than ever now
Jean Collinsworth, Claremont
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To the editor: So having verifiable historical information at Muir Woods is 'unpatriotic'? The person forcing this nonsense is the same one who claimed that we 'took over the airports' and 'manned the air' during the Revolutionary War. This is just one more thing from the MAGA administration to try to make us as ignorant as it is.
Steve Slakey, Glendora
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Miami Herald
14 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
What do Americans think of Benjamin Netanyahu? New poll breaks 28-year record
A record-high share of Americans now have a negative view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the latest Gallup poll. At the same time, support for Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip has plummeted to a record low. The survey comes as Netanyahu's government faces growing international condemnation for its handling of the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. According to Gaza health officials, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 55,000 Palestinians — the majority being women and children — while most buildings across the territory have been destroyed or damaged. Many of the territory's 2.1 million residents — nearly half of whom are children — also face famine and starvation due in large part to Israeli restrictions on aid coming into the area, according to the United Nations. 'Food is running out. Those seeking it risk being shot. People are dying trying to feed their families,' Tom Fletcher, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, said in a July statement. President Donald Trump recently acknowledged there is 'real starvation' in Gaza and urged Israeli officials to allow 'every ounce of food' into the enclave, echoing calls from other prominent world leaders. Meanwhile Netanyahu has denied there is severe hunger in Gaza and called the claim that Israel is 'applying a campaign of starvation' a 'bold-faced lie.' He's also blamed Hamas for stealing aid supplies. Here is a breakdown of the results from the Gallup poll. For the first time ever, a majority of Americans, 52%, now express an unfavorable opinion of Netanyahu, marking his highest negative rating seen since Gallup began polling on the leader in 1997 (he has served as prime minister from 1996-1999, 2009-2021 and from 2022 onward). Meanwhile, 29% expressed a favorable view, while 19% had no opinion. These results underscore a recent transformation in American attitudes toward Netanyahu — a member of Israel's right-wing Likud Party. For most of the 2000s and 2010s, his unfavorable rating held steady at around 25%, but it skyrocketed to 47% in 2023, following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. This rating stood at 45% in 2024, the same year the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of war crimes — a charge Netanyahu denied and said is rooted in antisemitism. In the latest poll — which surveyed 1,002 U.S. adults July 7-21 — views toward the prime minister varied significantly based on partisan affiliation and age. Record-low shares of Democrats and independents — 9% and 18%, respectively — expressed an favorable opinion of him. In contrast, a record-high 67% of Republicans had a positive view of Netanyahu, who has maintained a close political alliance with Trump. Nearly half of adults 55 and older, 47%, said they had a favorable view of the Israeli premier, while just 6% of 18-34-year-olds said the same. Opposition to the Israeli military's operations in the Gaza Strip has also surged to an unprecedented intensity. For the first time, a majority of Americans, 60%, now disapprove of the country's military actions in the Palestinian territory. This is up 12 points from 48% in September 2024. In contrast, 32% said they approve of the Israeli Defense Force's actions, down from 42% in 2024. Here, again, there were major demographic differences, according to the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The vast majority of Republicans, 71%, said they favor the military's conduct in Gaza, marking an increase from 66% last year. However, just 8% of Democrats said the same, down from 24% in 2024. Similarly, 25% of independents approve of the IDF's actions in Gaza, marking a double-digit decrease from 41% in 2024. Additionally, 49% of those 55 and older approved, while just 9% of 18-34-year-olds said the same, underscoring a generational divide that has emerged in U.S. public opinion toward Israel. 'The increasingly skeptical and divided American public poses a challenge for Israeli leadership and U.S. policymakers who are seeking to navigate the conflict,' Gallup concluded.
USA Today
14 minutes ago
- USA Today
GDP soars and Trump's economy roars. Liberals still won't give him credit.
Will Democrats put politics aside and applaud as the American economy shows a strength and resilience that so many of them doubted? Probably not. Thanks to President Donald Trump's bold policies, it appears that the United States will avoid a recession this year − one that so many liberals were predicting only months ago. Will Democrats put politics aside and applaud as the American economy shows a strength and resilience that so many of them doubted? Probably not. The Bureau of Economic Analysis on July 30 released more good news about our nation's vibrant economy. Gross domestic product grew a healthy annual rate of 3% in the second quarter after recording a less than 1% decline in the first three months of this year. Fears of a recession should now dissipate like morning haze after the sunrise. Nearly all markers of a strong economy are in top form. Unemployment is low, hovering at 4.1%. The past three months have seen steady job growth. Average hourly earnings for U.S. workers grew 3.7% over the 12 months ending in June. Consumer spending is expected to rise, and there's been a modest uptick in consumer confidence. The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, increased 2.7% over the 12 months ending in June, far below the 40-year high recorded in President Joe Biden's term. Even the average price of eggs has dropped dramatically, to $3.31 per dozen, down from a spike to $8 in February and back to roughly the same price level as a year ago. Stock indexes continue to grow at a strong pace, recovering from the sell-off this spring driven by concerns over Trump's tariffs. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have set multiple record highs in July, a boon to millions of Americans with retirement accounts and other investors. On the tariff front, Trump's new trade deal with the European Union should be a catalyst for further economic growth, particularly in the energy and construction sectors. If this is what a recession looks like, let's keep it coming. Critics said Trump was destroying the economy Despite such healthy economic markers, I doubt I'll see many kudos offered to the Trump administration for powering past a recession, which the left predicted in doomsday terms. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman wrote in May that Trump and "MAGAnomics" were "destroying the economy and waging war on the middle class and the poor." The headline thundered that Trump was "making America backward again." Opinion: Trump's EU trade deal ushers in a golden age for blue-collar workers Interestingly, Krugman claimed that the U.S. economy was in good overall shape when Biden left office in January. He charged Trump with wrecking the economy in a mere three months. Now, that the data clearly shows otherwise, will Krugman admit his errors? I doubt it. Krugman, to be fair, wasn't the only so-called expert spouting off about our supposedly crumbling economy. CNN published an analysis in April with a headline that claimed "Trump took the US economy to the brink of a crisis in just 100 days." That same month, the Center for American Progress bemoaned that "President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally launch a global trade war could be one of the worst economic statecraft blunders in American history." I read these articles in the mainstream news media and wonder if we share the same universe. Do progressives not see the same healthy economic markers that millions of other Americans and I see? The answer, of course, is that they do see − but they are too blinded by partisanship to admit it. Good economic news should be nonpartisan I don't have a problem with liberals criticizing Trump. Sometimes he deserves it. But when it comes to obvious wins like a blossoming economy, the constant derision is tiresome and pedestrian. A robust economy under any president is good news for Americans, regardless of their party affiliation. Right? I didn't care for Biden's leftist policies. But I didn't cheer when the economy struggled. It was bad news not just for Biden but, far more important, also for our nation and its citizens. More than a year after Biden entered the White House, annual inflation spiked to 9% in June 2022, the highest rate in four decades. Americans were hit with sudden increases in food, housing and transportation costs. Opinion: Nvidia CEO says Trump gives America an advantage. Hear that, progressives? Compounding the pain, the Federal Reserve acted to cool inflation by raising interest rates, which pushed up consumers' payments for auto, housing and credit card loans. Democrats tried to blame decisions made in Trump's first term, including federal spending used to fight consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Biden spent more even as the pandemic began to wane. In 2024, more than half of American voters said the economy was the issue that mattered to them the most. It's why Trump won more than 77 million votes and returned to the White House. Now, he is delivering on his promises to rebuild our nation's economy. But not everyone is happy about it. It's too bad liberals can't separate economic success from Trump's party affiliation. I can't help but wonder if they wanted a recession so they could blame Trump even more. Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@ and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.
New York Post
14 minutes ago
- New York Post
Grassley rips Trump demands to force judicial nominees through Senate: ‘I was offended'
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tore into President Trump Wednesday after the commander in chief called on Grassley to scrap a tradition that Democrats have been exploiting to scuttle Trump's judicial nominations. 'Last night, I was surprised to see President Trump on Truth Social go after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the 'blue slip,'' Grassley, 91, said during a committee hearing. 'I was offended by what the president said, and I'm disappointed that it would result in personal insults.' Advertisement The 'blue slip' tradition dates back more than 100 years and involves the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman consulting the senators from a state where a US attorney, circuit or district court nomination is pending. If both senators from that state give a negative assessment of the nominee — marked on a blue slip of paper — the president's pick doesn't get considered by the Judiciary panel. Most recently, New Jersey Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim used the blue-slip power to block consideration of Alina Habba's nomination to serve as US Attorney for the Garden State. Advertisement The president responded by withdrawing Habba's nomination, clearing the way for her to serve in an acting capacity. 'Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the US Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the 'Blue Slip' problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys,' Trump lashed out on Truth Social Tuesday evening. 3 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley gave a rare clapback against President Trump. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post 'Put simply, the President of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably Unconstitutional, 'CUSTOM.'' Advertisement So far in Trump's second term, Republicans have only confirmed five of his judicial picks, behind the pace of former President Joe Biden, who had eight judicial nominees confirmed at this point in 2021. An additional 10 judicial nominations remain pending, part of a backlog of about 250 picks awaiting confirmation, according to a Washington Post tracker. 3 President Trump has been vexed by a slow confirmation process in the Senate. Andrew Leyden/ZUMA / 3 Senate Republicans are exploring ways to green light President Trump's nominees. REUTERS Advertisement The Senate is scheduled to break later this week for its monthlong August recess, but Trump has urged Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to keep working through the scheduled break to clear the backlog. Despite the slow pace, Republicans have been apprehensive about eliminating the blue slip out of fear Democrats could exploit the lack of guardrails when they retake the Senate. 'Now, to people in the Real America – not here in Washington, DC, an island surrounded by reality – the people in Real America don't care about what the blue slip' is, but, in fact, it impacts the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. Attorneys who ensure law and order is enforced,' Grassley explained. Democrats have also been taking advantage of some of the Senate's arcane debate and voting rules to slow-walk many of Trump's picks, which have caused Republicans to threaten recess appointments. Recess appointments allow the president's nominees to go through when the upper chamber is on recess, sidestepping the cumbersome confirmation process. Traditionally, the House and Senate hold pro forma sessions, even during recesses, to block the executive branch from making such appointments.
