logo
Stephen A Smith says Trump's poor approval rating actually hurts Dems because they have no one to beat him

Stephen A Smith says Trump's poor approval rating actually hurts Dems because they have no one to beat him

Yahoo29-04-2025
Donald Trump's low approval rating may not be great for the president — but it's also not great for the Democrats, commentator Stephen A. Smith argues.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll captured that more than half of Americans — 55 percent — disapprove of Trump's policies while just 39 percent approve. But the survey offered little relief for Democrats; 7 in 10 Americans said the party was 'out of touch' compared to 6 in 10 who said the same about Trump.
The poll's findings marked the worst showing for a president at the 100-day mark in the last 80 years. On Monday's episode of his show, Smith argued that Trump's poor approval rating might be an even worse omen for the Democrats.
'Despite his low approval ratings, he's still more popular than the Democrats,' Smith, who has filtered with a 2028 presidential run, said. 'So it's really the ultimate indictment against the Democratic party because, again, despite the noise that he has made, and despite how unfavorably he's looked upon, the Democrats still can't beat him.'
The Democrats still don't have a 'face that resonates nationally,' he continued.
He pointed to Senator Cory Booker's record-breaking 25-hour Senate speech in which he protested the president's policies. 'Not too many people cared,' Smith said.
Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been traveling across the country on a 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour. More than 36,000 people protested the Trump administration during their tour stop in Los Angeles this month.
But, Smith argued, 'Going the hell off about Trump ain't gonna to get you so far because all you're showing us is that you're not willing to work with him. And because you're not willing to work with him — and the Democrats have control of neither the White House, the House of Representatives, or the Senate — you're powerless. You're just blowing into the wind.'
Ocasio-Cortez, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer are some of the Democrats floating around as potential 2028 presidential contenders.
After the findings were released, the president blasted the unfavorable polls — and their pollsters — in a Truth Social post.
Trump demanded the pollsters 'be investigated for election fraud' who suffer from 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' and are the 'TRULY THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

European leaders to join Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump
European leaders to join Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump

Chicago Tribune

timea minute ago

  • Chicago Tribune

European leaders to join Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump

KYIV, Ukraine — European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump about ending Russia's war in Ukraine. They are rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The remarkable show of solidarity — with leaders from France, Britain and Germany saying they would be at Zelenskyy's side at the White House on Monday — was an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office encounter. 'The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelenskyy to the hilt,' said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. 'It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,' he said. The European leaders' physical presence to demonstrate their support for Ukraine could potentially help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on X that she will take part in the talks, 'at the request' of Zelenskyy. The secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte, will also take part in the meeting, his press service said. The office of President Emmanuel Macron said the French leader will travel 'at the side of President Zelenskyy' and that he, too, would visit the White House. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also take part in the meeting with Trump, according to a statement from 10 Downing Street. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also be part of the European group. Writing on X, he said he would discuss security guarantees, territorial issues, and further support for Ukraine. The grouped trip underscored European leaders' determination to ensure that Europe has a voice in Trump's attempted peace-making, after the U.S. president's summit on Friday with Putin — to which Zelenskyy wasn't invited. Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to 'shape this fast-evolving agenda.' After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the narrative shifting towards Putin's agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that a possible ceasefore is 'not off the table' but that the best way to end the war would be through a 'full peace deal.' Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelenskyy in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid. Speaking to the press after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could 'create obstacles' to derail potential progress with 'behind-the-scenes intrigue.' For now, Zelenskyy offers the Europeans the 'only way' to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI's Melvin. However, the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be 'mindful' not to give 'contradictory' messages, Melvin said. 'The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump,' he added. 'Trump won't want to be put in a corner.'

Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says
Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says

The Hill

timea minute ago

  • The Hill

Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says

NEW YORK (AP) — Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,' he said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' He added that it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that 'we welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. and the 'Coalition of the willing' — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.' Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday's summit in Alaska, said the two sides agreeing to 'robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing.' He added that Russia said that it would make a legislative commitment not to go after any additional territory in Ukraine. Zelenskyy thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington is willing to support security guarantees for Ukraine, but said the details remained unclear. 'It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said, 'But there are no details how it will work, and what America's role will be, Europe's role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.' Witkoff defended Trump's decision to abandon his push for Russian to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal,' he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there would be 'additional consequences' as Trump warned before meeting with Putin, if they failed to reach a ceasefire. But Rubio noted that there wasn't going to be any sort of deal on a truce reached when Ukraine wasn't at the talks. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that. And the way we're trying to avoid those consequences is with an even better consequence, which is peace, the end of hostilities.' Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, said he did not believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire, noting that the latter isn't off the table but that 'the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.' 'The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,' Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' He also said 'we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement' and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work. 'We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we're still a long ways off,' Rubio said. Zelenskyy and Europeans leaders are scheduled to meet Monday with Trump at the White House. They heard from the president after his meeting with Putin. 'I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,' Witkoff said. He added: 'The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians — that could not have been discussed at this meeting' with Putin. 'We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon.'

Witkoff says Trump, Putin agreed to ‘robust security guarantees' during summit
Witkoff says Trump, Putin agreed to ‘robust security guarantees' during summit

The Hill

timea minute ago

  • The Hill

Witkoff says Trump, Putin agreed to ‘robust security guarantees' during summit

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to 'robust' security guarantees, including 'effectively' offering Ukraine Article Five-like protection, during their historic Friday meeting. 'We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing,' Witkoff said in an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union.' Witkoff explained that Russia agreed to allow the United States and other European countries to 'effectively offer [Ukraine] Article Five-like language to cover a security guarantee,' referring to the provision of NATO that states an attack on one NATO member is seen as an attack on all members. Russia has long opposed Ukraine's admission to NATO, Witkoff noted, saying a key reason Ukraine has sought membership is for that protection. 'Everything is going to be about what the Ukrainians can live with, but assuming they could, we were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article Five-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,' Witkoff said. 'We sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer Article Five protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that,' he continued. Witkoff said other agreements included 'legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified,' as well as 'legislative enshrinement in the Russian Federation not to go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.' Witkoff said any deal is subject to Ukrainian agreement and said land swaps is the 'fundamental issue' at stake that could not be discussed in detail without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Witkoff said Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders plan to discuss the issues further at the White House meeting on Monday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store