Epstein bungling overshadows a pretty good week: White House Report Card – Washington Examiner
The article provides a mixed assessment of President donald Trump’s recent week in office. On the positive side, Trump achieved significant successes including securing a major AI deal for Pennsylvania, seeing inflation stabilize, gaining new support from NATO, fulfilling a promise to reduce funding for public radio and TV with a $9 billion rescission bill, signing the first-ever cryptocurrency regulation act into law, and taking strong action against fentanyl dealers.
However, these accomplishments where overshadowed by controversies and missteps. The handling and confusing release of evidence related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, Trump’s indecisiveness about firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and issues surrounding a medical note about his chronic venous insufficiency drew criticism and media scrutiny.
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin gave Trump a B+ grade, noting that Melania Trump might potentially be influencing the president to take a tougher stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Conversely, Democratic pollster John Zogby gave Trump an F grade, highlighting the damage done by the Epstein scandal and the negative public perception it generated. According to Zogby, many Americans believe Trump is concealing details, and his approval ratings on key issues like immigration are declining.
despite some policy wins, Trump’s week was marred by significant controversies that detracted from his achievements and raised doubts about his control over the situation and public support.
Epstein bungling overshadows a pretty good week: White House Report Card
This week’s White House Report Card should have grades of ‘A’ and ‘B’ in it. President Donald Trump scored a major AI deal for Pennsylvania, saw inflation flatten, won new support from NATO, delivered on a promise to defund public radio and TV with a $9 billion recissions bill, signed the first-ever cryptocurrency act into law, and struck a “righteous blow” against fentanyl dealers.
But the confusion and mishandling of releasing evidence in the Jeffrey Epstein pedo case, his back and forth on firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and his doctor note about suffering from chronic venous insufficiency clouded the achievements.
Trump has a winning model to follow to get good weekly grades and proved it just two weeks ago. But he is still getting in his way and often making himself too available to endless media questions where things can go sideways.
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin added in his weekly assessment that Trump has been too friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He recalled that first lady Melania Trump recently told the president that after one of their friendly calls about ending the war in Ukraine, Moscow bombed Kyiv. In just a few words, she may have forever changed the president’s view of Putin, Babbin hoped.
Democratic Pollster John Zogby focused on the Epstein bungling and suggested that Trump may not be able to recover from the criticism of some of his biggest supporters.
Jed Babbin
Grade: B+
President Donald Trump’s infatuation with Russian President Vladimir Putin may not be at an end, but if his wife Melania has anything to say about it — and apparently she has plenty — Trump won’t trust Putin any longer.
The first lady’s fulminations against Putin may be having a considerable effect. Trump should never have trusted Putin as far as taking out the trash is concerned. Maybe the president is taking a longer, harder view, thanks to Melania’s warnings. Let’s hope.
Powell seems to hang on despite all of Trump’s bashing. Does Trump have sufficient cause to remove him? Many observers say we’re about to discover.
Inflation was down this week (to 2.7% compared to 9% under former President Joe Biden) so the automatic tax on living was also down. That’s good news for Trump, capping a summer of achievements.
John Zogby
Grade: F
For President Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein is ‘that damned spot,’ as in in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1: Out, damned spot! out, I say! Lady Macbeth just cannot rid herself of her guilt over participating in the murder of King Duncan.
Trump didn’t murder anyone, of course, but he looks guilty of it. Understand, all of us have a friend who is a convicted human trafficker and pedophile, but there are honest ways of dealing with it. Right? Having his attorney general state that there is no list of prominent Epstein ‘clients’ and that there will be no release of any evidence in the case was stupid, wrongheaded, and bizarre. (My Mom taught us Zogbys never to use the word stupid. Sorry, Mom, this was!)
Now, bizarre and just plain icky photos and birthday notes between our president and Epstein are leaking out.
Some Republican members of Congress, who have the distasteful task of running for re-election next year, are begging for all evidence to come out. The president himself is backtracking by saying some grand jury evidence should be released. Prominent MAGA leaders and influencers are disgusted with him.
All of this spells out only one thing: Trump has lost control of this situation this week and, from this public opinion pollster’s point of view, he probably can’t get it back under control. Overall, 69% of Americans believe he is concealing details, only 17% approve of his handling of the matter. (In 1995, O.J. Simpson had a 15% approval rating, according to a Zogby Poll!)
Further, there’s spillover. According to an AP/NORC poll, only one in four say Trump’s policies have done more to help them, while 49% say they have done more to hurt them. That includes only 20% of independents that said they have been helped, 53% hurt.
His approval on immigration is down to 43% and 56% believe he does not understand the problems facing ‘people like you.’
I shouldn’t predict, but I can merely suggest that we may be only one Saturday away from a Saturday Night Massacre. Bad, very bad week.
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Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on X @jedbabbin.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on X @ZogbyStrategies.
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