If Suffolk University had called me last week for its national poll for USA Today, I’m not sure how I would have answered this multiple-choice question: “How do you feel about Donald Trump becoming president again?”
I might have chosen “afraid,” as 30.9% of the respondents did, but like 12.3%, I’m also “depressed.”
“Discouraged,” “bewildered” and “angry” weren’t options, but that’s how I reacted when I saw that 31.4% were “excited” and 17.8% were “satisfied.”
Excited and satisfied that a convicted felon and all-around terrible person who talks like a cross between Vladimir Putin and Grandpa Simpson is returning to the White House with virtually unchecked power? And that he’s teamed up with an emerging oligarchy that, as President Biden warned, “literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead”?
Although pollsters aren’t always 100% accurate, I applaud their attempts to shine a light on Americans’ feelings and opinions.
The USA Today/Suffolk University survey of 1,000 registered voters reveals some paradoxes and inconsistencies that might interest someone studying the U.S. from afar but are likely to frustrate those of us who foresee chaos and corruption from Trump, his unqualified appointees and his egomaniacal tech bro pals.
As USA Today noted, Trump is in a stronger position than he was before he was sworn in eight years ago, but voters don’t like everything he’s said he’ll do.
To do or not to do
The table below (with data from the USA Today/Suffolk University poll) shows the most unpopular of seven agenda items were two that he repeated often and are all about him: pardoning the terrorists who heeded his call for a coup and investigating his perceived enemies, whom the poll specified as Biden administration officials and Democratic members of Congress.
Yet a slight majority – 51.7% — said Biden shouldn’t issue preemptive pardons for Liz Cheney, Dr. Anthony Fauci and others Trump has said he’ll prosecute.
| Issue | What You Most Want Trump To Do | What You Most Want Trump NOT To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Address the economy | 47.20% | 1.50% |
| Mass deportation of illegal residents | 21.00% | 16.40% |
| Slash federal spending | 9.00% | 3.00% |
| Encourage more domestic oil and gas exploration | 5.50% | 4.00% |
| Impose tariffs on foreign imports | 1.90% | 10.50% |
| Pardon those indicted or convicted in the Jan. 6 coup attempt | 1.70% | 23.10% |
| Investigate officials from Biden administration and congressional Democrats | 1.50% | 23.60% |
| Undecided | 12.20% | 17.90% |
It’s no surprise that the biggest percentage of respondents wanted action on the economy. The spike in prices for everything from groceries to housing was one of the Trump campaign’s most successful talking points.
So Trump waited until he won the election to walk back his claim that he’ll bring the cost of supermarket items way down, suddenly admitting “it’s very hard” to do that.
Maybe because consumers are almost certain to pay even more if he goes ahead with his tariffs, only 1.9% of respondents listed them as their top priority, while 10.5% put them at the bottom.
There were strong opinions about mass deportation of illegal immigrants on both sides; this was the second-most popular proposal, but it also ranked third on the list of what Trump shouldn’t do.
Only 9% said slashing federal spending was their top priority, but answers to a question on the Trump tax cuts showed 53.4% wanted to reduce the budget deficit even if it meant not extending and expanding them. Only 27.9% favored keeping or increasing them no matter what.
Trump’s new, Putinesque approach to foreign affairs didn’t go over well. Only 11.2% were all for acquiring Greenland (Remember, Trump wasn’t ruling out using military force), and 53.3% were against it. Another 28.6% liked the idea but said it wasn’t realistic.
A sad farewell
Trump’s favorable and unfavorable ratings were tied at 47%. While USA Today said that “isn’t exactly glowing,” it’s better than his net negatives of five points in December 2016 and 15 points four years later.
And in terms of favorability, he’s faring better than Biden, who’s leaving office with a 24-point net-negative rating.
That’s unfathomable and sad. In contrast to Trump’s flagrant self-interest, he had our country’s best interest at heart.
Despite single-minded obstruction from the GOP, Biden managed to lower some drug prices, provide much-needed Covid relief, stimulate U.S. manufacturing and fund massive infrastructure projects, including some to address climate change.
He worked with our allies instead of antagonizing them, and he helped stop congressional MAGAs from shoving us off a fiscal cliff.
He’s not perfect, and he committed the unpardonable sin of showing his age, but our country is in better shape now than it was at the end of Trump’s first term.
And if Trump does everything he plans to, he won’t be far into his second term before we’ll all miss Biden.
Canary note: Opinions expressed in any Op-Ed column appearing on this site are the views of the writer and are not necessarily the opinions of Coal Region Canary.
Coal Region Canary will always be an open forum for opinions from all sides. Want to be a columnist with Coal Region Canary? Contact us at newscanary@gmail.com.
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Josephine Kwiatkowski
January 21, 2025 at 4:51 pm
Thank-you Lisa for continuing to write and search for the truth.