Latest news with #voterTrust
Fox News
03-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
CNN polling expert marvels at collapse of Democratic advantage with middle class in Trump era
CNN senior political data reporter Harry Enten Monday marveled at how Democrats continue to face a stark lack of confidence from voters on the economy and middle class issues. Voter dissatisfaction with former President Biden's management of the economy was one of the major issues that led to President Donald Trump's return to the White House. While Trump may have stirred controversy with his tariff and immigration policy shakeups since then, the economy appears to be one key area where he retains voters' trust. CNN host Kate Bolduan observed as she spoke to Enten that, according to CNN's own polling, Republicans are actually gaining ground in terms of being trusted to help America's struggling middle class. "Yeah, you know, historically speaking, 'Which is the party of the middle class?' has been a huge advantage for Democrats," Enten said, referring to one question from the polling. He said Democrats had a 23-point advantage on this question in 1989 and a 17-point advantage in 2016, "But by this decade, we already started seeing declines back in 2022, where you saw that Democrats led, but only by four points, well within the margin of error." Now it's tied. "This, I think, speaks to Democratic ills more than anything else," he argued. "They have traditionally been the party of the middle class. No more! Donald Trump and the Republican Party have taken that mantle away, and now a key advantage for Democrats historically has gone 'adios, amigos,' and now there is no party that is the party of the middle class. Republicans have completely closed the gap, Kate." Enten also said while one might think Trump's rocky experimentation with tariffs might shake voters' faith in Republicans and make them consider the opposition, but, "It ain't so. It ain't so!" The data reporter noted that in November 2023, Republicans had an 11-point advantage as "the party that is closest to your economic views." He noted, "Now it's still within that range, still within that margin of error, plus eight point advantage for the Republican Party. How is that possible, Democrats?" Enten continued to break down the numbers, wondering, "How is it possible after all the recession fears? After the stock market's been doing all of this, after all the tariffs that Americans are against, and Republicans still hold an eight-point lead on the economy? Are you kidding me?" He argued that CNN's poll was echoed by similar findings from Reuters/Ipsos, showing that confidence in Republicans to handle the economy has risen. "And again, this is after months of supposed economic uncertainty in which the stock market's been going bonkers, in which tariff wars that Americans are against have been going on. And yet, despite all of that, the Democrats are down by 12 points on the economy," he said. "This speaks to Democratic problems on the economy better than basically anything that you could possibly look at," Enten continued, arguing that even if approval ratings are slightly lower than they once were, Republicans maintain a clear advantage with public opinion on their management of the economy.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top former Democratic counsel urges party to reject 'cultural leftism' after electoral losses
A former top Democratic legal adviser is calling on his party to move away from progressive policies, warning that the current approach is costing Democrats both voter trust and electoral success. Julian Epstein, former chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show" that the Democratic Party's embrace of progressive ideology is damaging its credibility on both economic and cultural issues. "[They] cannot divorce themselves from a discredited ideology which is progressive ideology, which has been a failure economically," Epstein said. "Look at the states, look at the state of California. And it's a failure culturally. People just don't believe in cultural leftism." Epstein said the issue runs deep within the party, and even its leadership struggles to navigate the internal divide between moderate and progressive factions. He pointed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as a figure caught in the middle. Four Months Into Trump's Second Term, Democrats Remain Deeply Pessimistic About Their Party "The Democrats just seem to be wandering in the wilderness without any real answer," Epstein said. "They [Democratic leaders] don't have the guts to stand up to the groups and say, 'We have to moderate and do what Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and go to the political center.'" Read On The Fox News App According to Epstein, Democratic leaders are hesitant to push back on the party's more radical wing out of fear of backlash, particularly from online activists. Trump Says 'There's Something Wrong' With Top Democrat He's Known 'A Long Time' "The internet has been weaponized," he said. "They are scared of the flying monkeys of the internet who will call them bad names if they don't do certain things or if they do certain things like cooperate with Trump a couple months ago on the shutdown." Earlier this year, Sen. Schumer faced heavy criticism after backing a Republican bill to prevent a government shutdown. Though Schumer disagreed with aspects of the House-passed stopgap spending bill, he supported it to avoid what he called a political "gift" to former President Donald Trump. Progressive Leader Says Schumer Faces 'Uphill' Climb To Win Back Democrats' Trust The move drew backlash from progressive commentators. "The reality here is there was no message, no strategy, and, at the end of the day, no leadership," said former Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards, now an MSNBC analyst. "This is really a black mark, I think, on Chuck Schumer." Democrats Are Out Of Step With The American People, Former Clinton Advisor Says The criticism sparked speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might challenge Schumer for his Senate seat. When asked about those rumors, Schumer downplayed them. "That's a long time away," he told The New York Times, responding to reports that some Democratic lawmakers have privately encouraged Ocasio-Cortez to consider a Senate run. Meanwhile, Schumer's popularity in New York has slipped. An April poll by Siena College found that only 39% of New York voters view him favorably, where AOC, the multi-term congresswoman from New York City and a prominent progressive voice, got a 47% favorable article source: Top former Democratic counsel urges party to reject 'cultural leftism' after electoral losses
Fox News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Top former Democratic counsel urges party to reject 'cultural leftism' after electoral losses
A former top Democratic legal adviser is calling on his party to move away from progressive policies, warning that the current approach is costing Democrats both voter trust and electoral success. Julian Epstein, former chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show" that the Democratic Party's embrace of progressive ideology is damaging its credibility on both economic and cultural issues. "[They] cannot divorce themselves from a discredited ideology which is progressive ideology, which has been a failure economically," Epstein said. "Look at the states, look at the state of California. And it's a failure culturally. People just don't believe in cultural leftism." Epstein said the issue runs deep within the party, and even its leadership struggles to navigate the internal divide between moderate and progressive factions. He pointed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as a figure caught in the middle. "The Democrats just seem to be wandering in the wilderness without any real answer," Epstein said. "They [Democratic leaders] don't have the guts to stand up to the groups and say, 'We have to moderate and do what Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and go to the political center.'" According to Epstein, Democratic leaders are hesitant to push back on the party's more radical wing out of fear of backlash, particularly from online activists. "The internet has been weaponized," he said. "They are scared of the flying monkeys of the internet who will call them bad names if they don't do certain things or if they do certain things like cooperate with Trump a couple months ago on the shutdown." Earlier this year, Sen. Schumer faced heavy criticism after backing a Republican bill to prevent a government shutdown. Though Schumer disagreed with aspects of the House-passed stopgap spending bill, he supported it to avoid what he called a political "gift" to former President Donald Trump. The move drew backlash from progressive commentators. "The reality here is there was no message, no strategy, and, at the end of the day, no leadership," said former Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards, now an MSNBC analyst. "This is really a black mark, I think, on Chuck Schumer." The criticism sparked speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might challenge Schumer for his Senate seat. When asked about those rumors, Schumer downplayed them. "That's a long time away," he told The New York Times, responding to reports that some Democratic lawmakers have privately encouraged Ocasio-Cortez to consider a Senate run. Meanwhile, Schumer's popularity in New York has slipped. An April poll by Siena College found that only 39% of New York voters view him favorably, where AOC, the multi-term congresswoman from New York City and a prominent progressive voice, got a 47% favorable mark.
