This week’s White House Report Card finds all eyes on next week’s first debate in the presidential race pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump.
They will head into the ABC News event on Tuesday with the background of worsening economic conditions and a tight race.
The week saw another bad jobs report that had some on Wall Street signaling a recession is looming.
President Joe Biden hit the trail to talk up his vice president before heading back on vacation to Delaware, where he has spent much of his presidency. Harris won the endorsements of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Cheney clan in her bid to push past a ceiling of support she has hit in some polls. She also began running several anti-Trump TV ads in battleground states funded by her massive August fundraising haul of $361 million, nearly three times what Trump raised.
As usual, our graders were split on the week. Conservative analyst Jed Babbin graded the week an “F,” and highlighted the endorsement of Harris by Putin. Independent pollster John Zogby graded the week a “B,” and said the Cheney’s endorsement signaled to wary Republicans that voting for Harris is OK.
Jed Babbin
Grade: F
For those who follow presidential politics, the week followed a script that could only have been written by Mel Brooks. Vice President Kamala Harris was endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, members of Gov. Tim Walz’s family endorsed former President Donald Trump, and the Justice Department — reacting to the terrorists’ murder of a U.S. citizen — decided to indict the killers.
Is there any wonder that we’re neither respected by our allies nor feared by our enemies? Only the Biden-Harris team could pretend that indicting the Hamas terrorist murderers is a forceful response to the murder of one of the Americans they held hostage. It’s not just a shameful response, it’s disgusting.
A few days before Putin endorsed Harris, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the media that the Russian autocrat favored Democrats because they’re more “predictable.” That they are. They can always be relied upon to make the wrong decision. Also a few days before Putin’s endorsement came the Biden crew’s charge that Russia was trying to influence the election through the internet, which seems a bit nuts from several standpoints.
Speaking of which, tucked in the $1.2 trillion “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” another part of Bidenomics that resulted in the highest inflation in 40 years, is a $42.5 billion fund to expand internet access across the country. In the three years since the law was enacted, not one single American has been connected to the internet under that law.
Meanwhile, Harris is prepping urgently for her debate against Trump next week. She’s nervous because she may be trapped into giving us some idea of the policies she’d pursue as president.
And then there were Walz’s relatives — including his older brother — who said they were supporting Trump. Cue the Blazing Saddles scene with Gov. LePetomaine and Hedley Lamar.
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John Zogby
Grade: B
This week brought good news for Vice President Kamala Harris, but there was some sobering economic news as well.
The Labor Department reported that 142,000 new jobs were created last month, below expectations. The unemployment rate is now at 4.2% and the previous month’s job growth was adjusted downward. All this signals an economic slowdown, which will probably trigger an easing of interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors when it meets this month.
In her race for president, Harris saw some good news. She raised nearly three times more cash than former President Donald Trump in August, $361 million to $130 million. He is witnessing possible troubles with Christian evangelical leaders, and his insulting of American Jews who vote for Democrats. She picked up the endorsements of former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Rep. Liz Cheney [R-WY], signals to fellow Republicans that it is okay to vote against the party’s nominee.
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Harris’s poll numbers continue to tick up nationally and in several battleground states. But this race is very close and, as of now, she has momentum and a continuing honeymoon. Next week is her biggest test when she debates Trump Tuesday night, but for this week, things were good.
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Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on X @jedbabbin.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book, Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should, was just released. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on X @ZogbyStrategies.
