Count this in Democrats’ favor: Americans are blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine, and they are also backing President Joe Biden’s move to ban Russian oil imports — even if that means higher gas prices.
Count this in another direction: Americans are blaming Biden for inflation, gas prices and the economy broadly — and remain divided on how the president is handling the crisis in Ukraine.
Those twin sets of findings from the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll point to political perils for Biden and the Democratic Party that are separate from the national security challenges that are themselves growing in urgency.
The poll found 77% of Americans overall and 72% of Republicans backing the concept of banning Russian oil, even when asked in the context of the impact on gas prices. Only 31% of Americans give Biden either a “good amount” or a “great deal” of blame for the war; 34% assign that level of blame to former President Donald Trump, who’s been out of office for nearly 14 months.
But Biden’s standing on issues of economic fallout is wobbly at best. Asked as two separate questions in this poll, 70% disapprove of his handling of both gas prices and inflation, while 58% disapprove of his handling of the economic recovery.
The White House hasn’t been subtle in assigning blame for economic challenges to Putin, via hashtags and more: “Make no mistake, inflation’s largely the fault of Putin,” the president told House Democrats on Friday.
There’s reason to think blaming Putin could be effective in the kind of midterm messaging the president is outlining. There’s also reason to think that won’t be nearly enough to insulate Democrats from voters’ backlash over higher prices.
As he prepares to sign it into law, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on his support for what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
DeSantis criticized the Walt Disney Company for its announcement of a pause on political donations in the state in response to the bill’s passage, calling the company “woke.”
“We are hard at work creating a new framework for our political giving that will ensure our advocacy better reflects our values,” wrote Disney CEO Bob Chapek in a memo to employees Friday. “And today, we are pausing all political donations in the state of Florida pending this review.”
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News.
The bill, officially named the Parental Rights in Education Bill, passed Florida’s Senate on Tuesday and would restrict discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom. It would also allow parents to sue if LGBTQ issues are taught.
The latest ABC News/Ipsos poll found that more than six in 10 Americans oppose legislation that would prohibit classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary school.
Georgia Republicans recently introduced a similar bill in the state legislature. Both bills are a part of a deluge of controversial LGBTQ-related proposals put forth by Republican lawmakers in states across the country.
President Donald Trump held a rally in South Carolina over the weekend where he called on supporters to oust two incumbent Republicans in the state’s June primary. So far, Trump has issued seven endorsements of House challengers, five of whom will be going up against lawmakers who voted in favor of his impeachment.
Out of the seven, two challengers are targeting South Carolina Reps. Nancy Mace and Tom Rice. Rice was among the 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment, and although Mace did not vote to impeach the former president, she repeatedly condemned Trump’s role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Trump is throwing his support behind former state Rep. Katie Arrington who is challenging Mace. He’s also backing current state Rep. Russell Fry, who is aiming to replace Rice. Both candidates attended Trump’s weekend rally in Florence.
But at least one South Carolina incumbent is heading into the primary fight with a high-profile endorsement of their own — the day before the rally, Mace announced former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had raised more than $300,000 on her behalf. In addition to her South Carolina roots, Haley also served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration and is seen as a possible 2024 contender.
However, despite criticizing Trump after the Jan. 6 riot, Haley went on to say last April that she “would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it.”
NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight
28. That’s the number of censures county Republican and Democratic parties issued in 2021, and as FiveThirtyEight contributor Seth Masket writes, the majority of these censures (23) were issued by local Republican parties, targeting officials who either voted to impeach former President Trump or failed to challenge the 2020 presidential election result. Twenty-eight censures out of 3,000-plus counties in the U.S. might not sound like a lot, but it still marks a huge uptick from previous years when local parties issued one or two censures at most.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News’ “Start Here” Podcast. Start Here begins Monday morning with ABC’s Martha Raddatz reporting from Lviv, Ukraine, on the foreign fighters joining the battle to defend the country. Then, ABC’s Patrick Reevell talks about new video purporting to show another Ukrainian mayor kidnapped. And, the Texas Tribune’s Eleanor Klibanoff breaks down the legal battles surrounding Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate parents of trans kids. http://apple.co/2HPocUL
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
President Joe Biden addresses the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference at Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C., at 2:10 p.m. and participates in a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at 7:45 p.m.
First lady Jill Biden will deliver remarks for the 2022 International Women of Courage Award at the Department of State at 10 a.m.
Press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing at 3 p.m.
The Senate convenes at 3:30 p.m. to consider the nomination of Shalanda Young as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Download the ABC News app and select “The Note” as an item of interest to receive the day’s sharpest political analysis.
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day’s top stories in politics. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
