Fox News faces bad choices with a possible Trump indictment

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If former President Trump is to be believed, his indictment and arrest are imminent on charges related to paying off adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. We don’t know how an indictment might impact Trump’s electoral chances, but looking at how Republicans reacted to Trump’s stolen-election claims and his role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, gives us a pretty good idea. The aftermath of those events indicate that the base stands by its man.

What could be different this time is whether Fox News follows Trump’s cues in framing an investigation or indictment as a “witch hunt.” The network still has a large and growing cable-news audience, which comes with tremendous agenda-setting power. CONTINUED

Natalie Jackson, National Journal

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Canada, Britain Favored Most in U.S.; Russia, N. Korea Least

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Americans continue to hold Canada and Great Britain in higher regard than all other countries rated in Gallup’s annual World Affairs survey, with close to nine in 10 viewing these U.S. allies favorably. Russia now ties with North Korea as the least favorably reviewed country.

Ten other countries among the 21 rated this year garner majority-level favorable ratings from the American public, including France, Japan and Germany, which at least 80% view “very” or “mostly” favorably. Taiwan, India, Israel, Ukraine and Egypt earn favorable scores ranging from 68% to 77%, while Brazil (64%) and Mexico (59%) are lower. CONTINUED

Megan Brenan, Gallup

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Biden and Harris Earn Similar Job Ratings

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Neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris earn positive ratings from the American public as a whole, but both get good marks from at least 3 in 4 of their fellow Democrats. The Monmouth University Poll also finds that less than 1 in 4 register approval of the U.S. Congress or feel the country is headed in the right direction.

Public opinion of how Biden is doing as president has remained stable since the end of last year. Currently, 41% of Americans approve of his job performance while 51% disapprove. CONTINUED

Monmouth University Polling Institute

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Issue Approvals of Biden, Trump, Obama in 6 Charts

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Gallup reviews Americans’ opinions of President Joe Biden’s handling of five key issues as well as ratings of Barack Obama and Donald Trump on the same issues: the economy, immigration, foreign affairs in general, and relations with Russia and China. A sixth chart compares Biden and Trump on the pandemic response.

Biden’s approval ratings on all of these issues come from Gallup’s Feb. 1-23 survey in which Biden’s overall job approval registered 42%, consistent with where it’s been for the past 18 months. CONTINUED

Mohamed Younis, Gallup

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Trump Gains on Desantis

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Former President Donald Trump now holds an advantage over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as Republican voters’ preference for the party’s 2024 nomination. The Monmouth University Poll shows Trump has made gains among nearly every voting bloc since the start of the year and is especially popular among strong MAGA supporters. [Note: most of the poll interviews were conducted before reports emerged about a potential indictment of the former president.]

When asked who they would like to see as the Republican nominee for president in 2024, 41% name Trump and 27% name DeSantis. …

In a hypothetical head-to-head contest, 47% of Republican voters would choose Trump for the party’s nomination and 46% would pick DeSantis. Just over a month ago, DeSantis (53%) had more support than Trump (40%). CONTINUED

Monmouth University Polling Institute

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Attacks on Manhattan investigation show GOP still can’t break from Trump

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Amid all the other uncertainties surrounding the possible indictment of Donald Trump, the flurry of events has made one thing unequivocally clear: the former president remains the center of the GOP universe.

The rush of GOP leaders to preemptively condemn Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s potential indictment of Trump as inherently illegitimate and politically motivated underscores the party leadership’s ongoing reluctance to separate itself from, much less criticize, Trump in almost any way. Republican leaders in the House have quickly moved in the opposite direction, demanding documents from Bragg and promising to investigate the investigators.

These rapid-fire events have been a reality check for those in the party who believed, or at least hoped, that Trump’s influence over the GOP had peaked. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, CNN

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