January 1, Poll: Trump’s Pandemic Response Approval Takes a Nosedive

This Day in History | 1974

President Richard Nixon announces to the public that he will release transcripts of 46 taped White House conversations in response to a Watergate trial subpoena issued in July 1973. The House Judiciary committee accepted 1,200 pages of transcripts the next day, but insisted that the tapes themselves be turned over as well.

Good morning Middle Americans, 

The political gravity of the White House’s inability to contain the damage of the coronavirus is taking hold. The proof is in new poll numbers from both Emerson and Reuters Ipsos. If you believe polls, America is losing faith in the president. 

Vice President Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic yesterday to talk about the federal government’s efforts to ramp up testing. And he didn’t wear a mask. And that upset a lot of people. The question we have, if we are all supposed to be wearing masks when we go out, why didn’t the vice president. 

Also the FBI has released documents from Robert Mueller’s Russia probe that appear to link Trump confidant Roger Stone to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Stone has denied any direct connection to Assange. 

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon

Poll: Approval for Trump’s Handling of Coronavirus Drops 10 Points

(The Hill) – President Trump’s approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus dropped 10 points from last month after an initial bump, according to a new Emerson College poll.

Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed approved of Trump’s efforts to tackle the outbreak, a drop from 49 percent last month.

The poll, released Tuesday, found that 51 percent said they disapproved of the president’s handling of the virus, a jump from 41 percent in March.

The president’s overall approval rating has ticked downward since last month, dropping from 46 percent to 41 percent.

The drops come after Trump’s overall approval rating leapt to new highs before dropping back down to the low- to mid-40s range it had consistently been stuck in since 2017.

Read more here

Related from Reuters Ipsos: Americans losing faith in what Trump says about the coronavirus

Mask-less Mike Pence Visits Mayo Clinic, Everyone Freaks

(Business Insider) -Vice President Mike Pence violated the Mayo Clinic’s requirement that visitors wear face coverings when he visited its Rochester, Minnesota headquarters on Tuesday.

Pence is the leader of the White House’s coronavirus task force, which has zeroed in on quickly ramping up coronavirus testing in the US. The Mayo Clinic recently partnered with the University of Minnesota to increase the state’s testing capacity.

But on Tuesday, video and photo footage of Pence noticeably not wearing a mask per the clinic’s rules quickly surfaced on social media. Since April 13, the clinic has required all patients and visitors to wear a mask or other face covering in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Find out more here

FBI Documents Reveal Communication Between Stone, Assange

(AP) – Weeks after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel in the Russia investigation, Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, reassured WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a Twitter message that if prosecutors came after him, “I will bring down the entire house of cards,” according to FBI documents made public Tuesday.

The records reveal the extent of communications between Stone and Assange, whose anti-secrecy website published Democratic emails hacked by Russians during the 2016 presidential election, and underscore efforts by Trump allies to gain insight about the release of information they expected would embarrass Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

The documents — FBI affidavits submitted to obtain search warrants in the criminal investigation into Stone — were released following a court case brought by The Associated Press and other media organizations.Find out more here