I wrote this week that Donald Trump’s response to the Los Angeles protests demonstrates his weakness, not his strength. When I argued this point, there was some polling, but not a whole lot. Now, at the end of the week, we have a lot more data, and — White House spin notwithstanding — the politics of this action looks terrible for the president.
Writing for his Strength in Numbers newsletter, G. Elliott Morris put together a useful chart of this week’s polling as it relates to the L.A. protests, Trump and immigration. When asked if they approved of the way the president is handling immigration, majorities of Americans in polls from The Associated Press, Quinnipiac University and The Washington Post said no. Trump received a positive rating of 49 percent approval in a survey conducted by YouGov for The Economist. His average net approval on immigration is around -7 points.
On the question of deportations, both YouGov and Quinnipiac find negative ratings for the president, for an average net approval of roughly -14 points. More Americans disapprove than approve of Trump’s decision to send troops to Los Angeles, for an average net approval of nearly -8 points, and a solid majority of Americans, 56 percent according to YouGov, say that state and local officials should take the lead on responding to protests in Los Angeles, as opposed to the 25 percent who say it should be a federal responsibility.
As for the protests themselves, more Americans disapprove than approve, for an average net approval rating of -5 points.
What these numbers tell me is that with a more measured approach, Trump might have been able to win this confrontation and bring Americans around to his position. As it stands, a draconian use of force against largely peaceful protesters — in service of a brutal campaign of deportations — has turned the public against him, even as it dislikes the protests themselves. And I expect that the manhandling and handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla of California during a news conference held by Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security — a stunning abuse of power — will worsen the president’s position with most Americans.
Today, in cities and towns across the country, some number of Americans — maybe even you — will be protesting against the administration and in opposition to the White House’s monarchical pretensions. As I am writing this, there is no way to know the scale of these demonstrations. But something tells me that the events of this week have activated many Americans in a way that will prove detrimental to the president’s authoritarian goals.
What I Wrote
I argued that deploying the military in reaction to a modest protest of federal agents’ actions was a fundamental demonstration of the president’s weakness and of the brittleness of the president’s attempt authoritarian control.
Power, real power, rests on legitimacy and consent. A regime that has to deploy force at the first sign of dissent is a regime that does not actually believe it can wield power short of coercion and open threats of violence.
I joined Mary Harris on Slate’s “What’s Next” podcast to discuss the Los Angeles protests. I was also on Chris Hayes’s MSNBC show discussing the political impact of the protests.
Now Reading
This week, here are a few of the older works I’ve been reflecting on.
“The Sources of Danger to the Republic” an address delivered by Frederick Douglass in St. Louis on Feb. 7, 1867.
Book 1, Chapter 58 of Niccolò Machiavelli’s “Discourses on Livy,” “That a People Is Wiser and More Constant Than a Prince.”
W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1928 essay on Robert E. Lee, presented here by Kevin Levin.
A Nov. 1, 1787, letter to The Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer from “An Old Whig,” criticizing the office of the presidency as presented in the proposed federal constitution.
Abraham Lincoln’s Dec. 1, 1862, message to Congress.
Photo of the Week
I am a sucker for a good sign. I saw this one in Troy, N.Y., this year.
Now Eating: Succotash
This calls for frozen corn and lima beans, but this is obviously a perfect use of fresh corn and fresh field peas or lima beans. It’s not quite tomato season in Virginia, but if you have access to good fresh tomatoes, use those here as well. Recipe comes from New York Times Cooking.
Ingredients
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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1 medium Vidalia onion, finely chopped
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1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
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2 teaspoons garlic powder
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1 teaspoon sweet paprika
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3 garlic cloves, minced
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1 pound frozen corn kernels, defrosted, or 6 ears corn, husked, kernels removed
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1 pound frozen lima beans, defrosted
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1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
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1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
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Salt and pepper
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter with the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook until soft, about 3 minutes, then stir in the garlic powder, paprika and minced garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir in the corn and lima beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re heated through, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining butter and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the tomatoes and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Jamelle Bouie became a New York Times Opinion columnist in 2019. Before that he was the chief political correspondent for Slate magazine. He is based in Charlottesville, Va., and Washington. @jbouie
The post The Polls Are In. Trump Is Not Winning in Los Angeles. appeared first on New York Times.
