Several polls released over the past few days have gauged not just what Americans think about Donald Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, but offered some critical insight into the hysterical minds of anti-Trump Democrats who bear much of the blame for our poisonous political climate. In some cases, their views reject fact and expose their blinding passion to delegitimize and destroy Trump’s presidency.
Most of the polls find that partisans are deeply-divided in their opinions about the way the president dealt with the aftermath of the deadly clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters, including anti-fascists. A CBS News poll shows that while 67 percent of Republicans said they approve of the way the president handled the events in Charlottesville, 82 percent of Democrats said they disapprove. Despite eyewitness and media accounts of the incident that confirm Trump’s initial comment that both sides were responsible for the escalating violence (one video clip shows Antifa thugs taunting police, chanting “police and Klan go hand in hand”), 83 percent of Democrats said the president described the events inaccurately; 68 percent of Republicans said he described it accurately.
The poll then asked a few questions about the president and racial issues. While a majority of all respondents said it matters “a lot” how the president handles race relations, 70 percent of Democrats said that “the policies of the Trump Administration have encouraged racial division in the U.S.” Only 15 percent of Republicans agreed, with 56 percent saying his policies have had no effect (the most accurate assessment.)
Exactly what policies has the Trump administration enacted that have promoted racial disharmony in the country? Foes of the president criticize him for not getting anything done, yet they claim he recklessly enacts policies that fuel racial discord. I suppose that works as political “narrative” in their circles, but it fails miserably as an accurate recounting of events.
An NPR/PBS Newshour Poll, 73 percent of Democrats said race relations are worse than they were a year ago; only 32 percent of Republicans said the same. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats said Trump’s response to the protests in Charlottesville was “not strong enough,” but 59 percent of Republicans thought it was.
One Monmouth University poll question in particular sheds the most light on the Democrats’ Trump derangement. The survey asked, “can you think of anything Trump could do, other than resign (emphasis added) in his term as president that would make you approve of the job he is doing?” Now, any sensible person would reject the legitimacy of this question out of hand. But we are talking about Democrats in the era of Trump. So. of course, 57 percent of Democrats said “no.”
Let’s underscore this: A large majority of Democrats will not approve of Donald Trump no matter what he does unless he resigns from office. This echoes the laughable results of another poll from earlier this month—before the Charlottesville incident—that showed 72 percent of Democrats think President Trump should be impeached. Nearly three-quarters of Democrats think Trump should be impeached . . . for what? Do they not understand how impeachment works? This might also explain the near-silence from the media and Democratic leaders last week in reaction to a Missouri state senator’s call for Trump’s assassination. I can only imagine the poll results on that question.
The polls aren’t the only measure of how unmoored from fact, reason, and political common sense most Democrats (and some NeverTrump “conservatives”) have become. Social media was a cesspool of stupidity last week, with many posters comparing Antifa thugs to World War II soldiers. CNN anchor Chris Cuomo posted a meme of soldiers departing a ship on D-Day with the tag, “Anti-fascists disrupting a large gathering of white supremacists.” Cuomo’s tweet included a title, “Let’s not forget.” Brian Fallon, former spokesman for Hillary Clinton, tweeted out a similar meme:
Also confronted the Nazis without a permit: pic.twitter.com/3c2f3X9slC
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) August 16, 2017
Of course, it didn’t take long for the halfwits in the Twittersphere to regurgitate that message just as eagerly as they were comparing Trump voters to Nazis. (The retweeting of this comparison oddly dissipated after Antifa and Black Lives Matters rioters attacked police in Boston this past Saturday.”)
Some people need to take a long look in a mirror.
Virginia’s U.S. senator and former vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine (can we pause for a moment and shout a loud ‘Amen’ that this dude is not anywhere near the White House?) posted a statement decrying “a climate where individuals who espouse hate feel emboldened.” He implied the president is to blame for the events in Charlottesville. So, who is to blame for the fact Kaine’s 24-year-old son was charged with several misdemeanors after he became violent at an anti-Trump rally in Minnesota last March, including allegations he scuffled with police? Perhaps you should sit this one out, senator.
Even the strongest Trump supporters I know have uneasiness about the president’s temperament and impulsive tendencies. These are legitimate concerns. But it’s hard to heed any exhortation for calm and sensibility from people who are more unstable, more unreasonable, and more hypocritical than the man they demonize on an hourly basis. Their overreach is the gift that keeps on giving. What they fail to understand is that gift is served up with a big red bow to Donald Trump and his supporters every time.
The president should send them a thank you note.