Latest news with #KenMartin
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Bad Brand: Democrats plunge to new lows in another national poll
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin isn't sugar-coating his party's problems. "We do have a brand problem," the DNC chair said in a recent Fox News Digital interview. And in what's starting to sound like a broken record, the Democratic Party hit another historic low in a national poll this past weekend. Only a third of those questioned in a Wall Street Journal survey said they held a favorable view of the party, with 63% holding an unfavorable opinion of the Democrats. That's the highest unfavorable rating for the party in a Wall Street Journal poll dating back 35 years. While the favorable ratings for President Donald Trump (45%-52%) and the Republican Party (43%-54%) in the poll were nothing to brag about, they weren't as deeply underwater as the Democrats' favorability. "The Democratic brand is so bad that they don't have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party," said longtime Democrat pollster John Anzalone, who conducts Wall Street Journal polling along with veteran Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio. The Wall Street Journal survey, which was conducted July 16-20, is the latest this month to indicate the plunge in Democratic Party polling. Just 28% of Americans viewed the party favorably, according to a CNN poll conducted July 10-13. That's the lowest mark for Democrats in the entire history of CNN polling, going back over 30 years. And just 19% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University national poll in the field July 10-14 gave Democrats in Congress a thumbs up on how they're handling their duties, with 72% disapproving. That's an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first began asking congressional approval questions in their surveys 16 years ago. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last year's elections. Not only did the party lose control of the White House and Senate and failed to win back the House majority, but Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party's base. Since Trump's return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president's sweeping and controversial second-term agenda. Their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but at Democrats they feel aren't vocal enough in their opposition to Trump. That has fueled a plunge in the Democratic Party's favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several surveys this year. "When you hit rock bottom, there's only one direction to go, and that's up, and that's what we're doing," Martin said last week in his Fox News Digital interview. Martin said "people have bought into this idea that Donald Trump and the Republicans best represent their interests for the future." And that's reflected in the Wall Street Journal poll. Even though Trump's overall approval ratings and his numbers specifically on how he's handling the economy are in negative territory, the survey indicates voters still trust Republicans over Democrats on the economy by 10 points. But there is a silver lining in the poll for Democrats. By a 46%-43% margin, voters questioned in the survey said they would back a Democrat for Congress over a Republican. Democrats are aiming to win back the House and Senate majorities in next year's midterm elections. In Wall Street Journal polling eight years ago, Democrats held an eight-point advantage, a year ahead of a blue wave that swept the party back into power as they grabbed the House majority in the 2018 midterms during the first Trump administration.
Fox News
6 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Messaging war over Trump's 'big beautiful bill' heats up between Democrats, Republicans
EXCLUSIVE – As he looks ahead to next year's midterm elections, when the Democrats try to win back majorities in the House and Senate, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin is targeting the Republicans' so-called "big, beautiful bill." "We welcome the debate, because this is the debate that's going to actually help us as a Democratic Party, build our coalition again and win elections," the DNC chair said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. Martin's rival, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley, told Fox News last week that the sweeping GOP-crafted domestic policy bill that narrowly passed the House and Senate in near-party-line votes and President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, will be a "cornerstone" of their party's messaging going forward. That's just fine with Martin. "If this is the ground they want to die on, the hill they want to die, we'll make sure they die on it," Martin said of Republicans. The Republican package is stuffed full of Trump's 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. It includes extending the president's signature 2017 tax cuts—which were set to expire later this year—and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. "This is going to help every family in every community all across the country," Whatley predicted in his Fox News Digital interview. But Martin disagreed, saying that "there is nothing in this bill that's going to help hard-working Americans. Let's be very clear, this is a giveaway to the richest people in our country." The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president's controversial immigration crackdown. The massive tax cuts and spending package is also projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to increase the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade, but many Republicans dispute the projection. And the new law also restructures Medicaid—the almost 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. The CBO this week estimated that 10 million people could lose their health insurance over the next decade. The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation's major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump's tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage. "The fact is that we're going to be moving illegal aliens off of Medicaid. We're going to be strengthening the program," Whatlley said. "Those are things that absolutely need to happen." But Democrats, for months, have repeatedly blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes. And they spotlighted a slew of national polls last month and this month—including one this week from Fox News—that indicate the bill's popularity in negative territory. "American people are hurting right now, and there's no doubt that this is an issue that allows the Democrats right now to actually rebuild our coalition, to actually bring people back in, many who left our party over the years, who felt like we weren't fighting for them and actually lifting up working people," Martin said. And the DNC chair argued that "Donald Trump has betrayed them. I don't call this the big beautiful bill. What I call it is a big, ugly betrayal, because that's exactly what it is. It's a betrayal to the hardworking Americans who expected more from this president."
Fox News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DNC chair targets GOP's 'big beautiful bill' ahead of midterm elections
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin tells Fox News Digital that the Republicans' "big beautiful bill" will help his party "win elections."
Fox News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DNC chair says 'we want everyone' in Democratic Party including 'leftists' like Mamdani
EXCLUSIVE - Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin takes issue with the messaging push by Republicans to try and anchor Zohran Mamdani to vulnerable Democrats running in next year's elections. Asked about the 33-year-old democratic socialist candidate who last month stunned the political world by capturing the Democratic Party mayoral nomination in New York City, Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Michael Whatley last week claimed that Mamdani "is the face of the new Democratic Party." But Martin, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, pushed back. "That's just ridiculous. We have many faces of the Democratic Party all over the country," Martin said. He then listed well-known party leaders, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont (an independent who is part of the Senate Democrats' leadership), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Mamdani, a Ugandan-born state assemblyman from the New York City borough of Queens, grabbed national attention after topping former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates last month in the Democratic primary, taking a big step towards becoming the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation's most populous city. Republicans now see him as a source of ammunition as they aim to portray Democrats as far-left radicals. "Everybody who wants to lead that party wants to lead it to the left…they're moving away from the American public right now at a pretty rapid clip," Whatley argued. But Martin highlighted that "the Democratic Party is a big tent party. We have conservative Democrats, we have centrist Democrats, we have progressives, and we have these leftists." "We want everyone to be in that party. And, you know, that includes Zohran Mamdani, that includes other folks on all sides of the ideological spectrum," Martin added. Martin, who was elected in early February as the new DNC chair, said "that's the difference…between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Republicans expect people to march lockstep. If there's any dissent, they're drummed out of the party. They're pushed out of the party. I reject that type of leadership." Meanwhile, Mamdani has given Republicans plenty of fodder to use to go on the offensive. He's proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City's vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) "tuition-free," freezing rents on municipal housing, offering "free childcare" for children up to age 5, and setting up government-run grocery stores. Republicans have used recent viral videos of Mamdani in their attacks. They include a 2020 photo Mamdani posted online that shows him flipping off a statue of Christopher Columbus, stories about comments Mamdani made last December when he said as mayor he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his recent comments in a cable news interview in which he said "I have many critiques of capitalism." Mamdani's comments on Israel have also caused controversy, including his resistance during the primary campaign to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada," which is viewed by many people as a call to violence against Jewish people. "I've said very clearly, I reject any hate speech in our party. I will always call out antisemitism when I see it, Islamophobia when I see it, homophobia, when I see it. There's no space or quarter within the Democratic Party for that type of speech," Martin said when asked by Fox News if he found any of Mamdani's proposals or comments troubling. "'Globalized the Intifada,' of course, it's a call to incite violence, and we all have a responsibility to reject that, and I will," he added. Martin, a former chair of Minnesota's Democratic Party, noted he was back home recently to attend the funeral of a former Minnesota House Speaker and her husband, who were shot and killed in their home. The DNC chair, who called the two people killed "really close friends," said, "They were assassinated because of their political beliefs. And we have a responsibility right now, I think, leaders of either party, and frankly, leaders of any organization in this country, when we see that type of rhetoric and hate speech that's inciting people to violence, to call it out unequivocally and all the time."
Fox News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DNC Chair Ken Martin discusses Zohran Mamdani
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview, says Republican attempts to make Zohran Mamdani the face of the Democrats are "ridiculous."
