Tea, cakes and funny signs greet Vance in quintessentially British countryside

7 hours ago

LONDON — JD Vance got a very English welcome after he, his family and their large security detail rolled through the village of Charlbury this week, just not the kind the vice president would have hoped for.
Bathed in sunshine, dozens of demonstrators drank tea, ate cake featuring a meme of the vice president's face and held up humorous placards Tuesday in the small community in the Cotswolds, as this part of the countryside is known.
'JD Vance Netflix password is 'password,'' said one handmade sign at a protest near where the Vances are vacationing some 100 miles west of the capital, London.
A second sign declared that Vance 'claps when the plane lands,' referring to a practice mocked by some Britons who see it as very un-British overenthusiasm. Others held placards quoting Vance when he said he 'never liked' President Donald Trump.
'Cotswolds childless cat ladies say go home,' another read, referring to comments Vance made to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021 about senior Democrats in Congress that resurfaced during last year's presidential race.
In the nearby town of Chipping Norton, some locals said they were unprepared for the level of security disruption as some of the already tight roads in the area were closed for Vance's motorcade.
Design manager Geoff Holliday, 51, said Wednesday he was 'getting bored' with the closures, adding that he was longing for the motorcade to be slowed down by 'a disgruntled farmer and a combine harvester.'
Nestled among the rolling hills that rise up from meadows of the upper River Thames, the Cotswolds' picture-postcard towns and villages have been popular with holidaymakers for centuries.
More recently, the area has attracted a wealthier crowd.
Chipping Norton and its surrounding area are known for the 'Chipping Norton set,' including former Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha Cameron; Elizabeth Murdoch, media executive and daughter of Rupert Murdoch; and more recently, comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Former "Top Gear" presenter Jeremy Clarkson's 'Diddly Squat Farm' in Chadlington is also nearby, and he shared an image on Instagram which highlighted how his farm is under a no-fly zone over the Cotswolds.
Appearing to reference filming for his 'Clarkson's Farm' Amazon show, he wrote: 'The JD Vance no fly zone. We are the pin. So on the downside, no drone shots today. On the upside, no annoying light aircraft.'

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What is Trump's approval rating? See states where he is most, least popular

USA Today

15 minutes ago

USA Today

What is Trump's approval rating? See states where he is most, least popular

President Donald Trump's approval ratings nationally are in the red, but for about half of the states, more people approve of his job peformance. State legislatures could determine Trump's political future. Texas' push to redraw its Congressional map to add more Republican seats has dragged the states into a bit of a standoff, as heavy hitter Democratic states threaten to do the same if Texas moves forward. That's because Democrats are looking to take back control of the U.S. House in the midterm elections, and doing so would subvert Trump's efforts for his last two years in office. While Trump's approval rating nationally remains historcially low, a look at state-by-state survey results show a more complicated picture. Here is what we know: More: Did Trump remove the Rose Garden? He has pushed these White House renovations Trump has positive approval rating in 27 states Trump's approval rating is above water in 27 states. That is according to an Aug. 12 update from Morning Consult, which gathers polls over the course of three months to get a look at state-level data among registered voters. The number of states is unchanged from July's update. Trump is most popular by Morning Consult in Wyoming, where 66% of voters approve of his job performance, and least popular in Vermont, where 64% disapprove of his job performance. But his approval is net negative in two states with gubernatorial races this fall: New Jersey and Virginia, according to Morning Consult. In Texas, 53% of voters approve of Trump's performance while 44% disapprove. In California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to counter changes in Texas' redistricting, 41% approve of Trump's job peformance while 56% disapprove. California is Trump's seventh worst rating among the states, according to Morning Consult. What is Trump's approval overall? RealClearPolitics Poll Average shows Trump's approval rating was becoming more negative throughout the first few weeks of July before buoying toward the end of the month. Aggregated polls by the New York Times show a similar trend. As of Jan. 27, Trump received a +6.2 percentage point approval rating, but as of March 13, it flipped to slightly negative, the RealClearPolitics graphics show. The approval rating reached its most negative on April 29 at -7.2 percentage points, which fell around Trump's 100-day mark. It came close to that low again on July 22 and 23 at -7.1 percentage points, as the controversy over Epstein carried into its third week. His average approval rating margin as of Aug. 12, according to RealClearPolitics, is -5.4 percentage points. The approval margin according to the New York Times aggregator on Aug. 12 is -8 percentage points. How does Trump's approval rating compare to previous presidents? A historical analysis by Gallup shows Trump's approval ratings in July of his first years in office − both as the 45th and 47th presidents − are lower than any other modern president at the same time in their administrations. In a Gallup poll conducted from July 7-21, 37% approved of Trump's job performance. Here is how that compares to other presidents in July of their first year of their term, according to Gallup: Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @