CNN Poll: 60% say debt ceiling increase should come with spending cuts

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Sixty percent of Americans say Congress should only raise the nation’s debt ceiling if it cuts spending at the same time, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as the government’s June 1 “hard deadline” to avoid economic catastrophe looms large over Washington. Few see President Joe Biden or the Republicans in Congress as acting responsibly in negotiations over the debt limit, with most in both parties more concerned that their side will give up too much than that the United States will default on its debt.

Still, a broad majority of Americans favor raising the debt ceiling (84%), with just 15% saying Congress should not do so under any circumstances. Besides the 60% who support raising the ceiling alongside spending cuts, 24% say it should happen no matter what. CONTINUED

Jennifer Agiesta, CNN

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Concerns about Biden’s reelection swamped by fear of Trump in swing voter focus groups

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Nearly all of the 15 gathered swing state voters described feeling negative emotions when they saw President Biden on a television or computer screens — “confused,” “concern,” “worry,” “sad,” “sorry” and even “panicked.”

Every single one said they wished Biden and his old Republican foe Donald Trump were not running for reelection. Several offered dire assessments of Biden’s mental and physical capacities, calling him too old or speculating about the possibility of dementia.

But as the focus group moderator steered the conversation to the possibility of a Biden rematch next year with Trump, the mood clearly shifted among these voters, who had all cast a ballot for Trump in 2016 and then Biden in 2020. CONTINUED

Michael Scherer, Emily Guskin & Scott Clement, Washington Post

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Negative views of the direction of the country and the national economy persist

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The country continues to hold negative views of the direction of the country and the condition of the economy. Only 21% of adults believe the country is headed in the right direction. This includes 36% of Democrats and 7% of Republicans. Twenty-four percent of the public says the economy is in good shape, while 76% think it is in poor condition.

Views of the national economy remain pessimistic, with 24% of adults rating the national economy as good. This is down from April, when 30% called the national economy good. Democrats are more likely to say the national economy is good compared to Republicans. And adults age 60 and older are more likely to say the national economy is good compared to younger adults (34% vs. 19%). …

Forty percent of the public approve of how Joe Biden is handling his job as president, just about the same as his approval rating in April. His support among Democrats remains strong. CONTINUED

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

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Why Ron DeSantis can win the GOP nomination for president

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Ron DeSantis is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race this week. But the Florida governor begins his campaign to win the GOP nomination with his poll numbers flailing and with former President Donald Trump as the clear primary front-runner.

Still, DeSantis remains by far the best hope for anti-Trump forces within the GOP. And a few recent historical examples indicate he has a real chance to be his party’s nominee. …

To beat the odds, DeSantis probably needs at least one of two things to happen.

One, he needs to ensure that more of the party establishment doesn’t rally around Trump. The former president already has more than four times as many endorsements from members of Congress and governors than he did throughout the 2016 primary cycle. CONTINUED

Harry Enten, CNN

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The Covid emergency is over. Calculating the final toll is just beginning.

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Earlier this month, the emergency that surrounded Covid-19 was officially declared to be over. The World Health Organization and the federal government both announced that Covid-19, or at least the worst part of it, was in the rearview mirror.

So this week, the Data Download turns its attention to the very real and very serious costs the virus inflicted upon the United States.

Let’s start with the most impactful toll: the loss of life that accompanied the three-year pandemic. CONTINUED

Dante Chinni, NBC News

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What Really Happened in 2022?

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The late spring/early summer of an off-year is one of my favorite times of the year. Sure, I love the longer days and the warmer weather. But it’s also that time when we finally get a full, data-supported account of who showed up to vote in the previous election. Exit polls give us a good first pass, but until the voter files have been updated and verified and the county and precinct-level data have been gathered and organized, our understanding of the electorate isn’t complete.

This week, Catalist, a Democratic data analytics firm, released “What Happened,” the fourth installment of their series analyzing the previous year’s election results.

Some of their findings support the current narrative of the midterm election — namely that young voters were the key to Democrats’ success at the statewide level. But other findings, like Democrats’ overall slippage with white college-educated voters, goes against some of the conventional wisdom. CONTINUED

Amy Walter, Cook Political Report with Amy Walter

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