Politics
News Analysis: Trump gave himself high marks. Polls, markets, courts, allies paint a different picture
President Trump gave his new administration high marks in a bullish speech to Congress on Tuesday, arguing he is making fast work of his promised agenda on immigration, the economy, international trade and global conflicts, and that the U.S. is stronger for it.
“We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years — and we are just getting started,” Trump said during his speech, which resembled a State of the Union address.
Trump’s largely rosy assessment was backed by many Republicans, who applauded often throughout the speech, and there is evidence to support some of his claimed successes. At the southern border, for instance, illegal crossings have dwindled, just as Trump promised — though not to their lowest level ever, as Trump claimed Tuesday.
However, other indicators of success for a new president — including public polling, economic markets, court rulings and the remarks of foreign allies — paint a far more nuanced picture. In some cases, they support the opposing view of congressional Democrats and other critics that Trump’s policies have made the nation far weaker in a stunningly short period of time by disrupting core government services, rattling global financial markets, sparking trade battles, abandoning U.S. allies and providing little of the economic relief most desired by struggling Americans.
“America wants change, but there’s a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan in a rebuttal speech delivered on behalf of Democrats.
Since his election in November — which was narrow in terms of votes but relatively decisive on the electoral map — Trump has claimed a wide mandate to enact his “America first” vision, including through sweeping executive orders designed to bypass Congress. He has used that argument to dismiss criticisms, including from federal judges, that his administration is overreaching, moving too quickly and potentially violating the law.
On Tuesday, Trump said that his November win “was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” that “for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction,” and that “it has been stated by many” that the first month of his presidency has been “the most successful in the history of our nation.”
However, recent polling has suggested that Americans are heavily divided on Trump’s policies, and that more disapprove of him and some of his key initiatives than approve of them. Trump’s key advisor Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has targeted federal agencies for closure or dramatic reductions in staffing and funding, have even less support.
An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll conducted last week, for example, found 45% of Americans approved of the job Trump is doing, while 49% disapproved. That is a high approval rating for Trump, who had a 38% approval rating at the end of his first term, but historically low for a new president ahead of his first address to Congress, according to Gallup and other polling figures.
Among modern presidents, only Trump himself, at the start of his first term in 2017, has had a lower approval at this stage.
A separate CNN poll, also conducted last week, put Trump’s approval rating at 48%. Both polls were conducted before Friday, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance shocked the world by berating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, undoing a planned security and mineral rights deal.
Americans also are not overly optimistic about the path the country is on. According to the Marist poll, 53% of Americans said the state of the union is not very strong or not strong at all, 54% said the country is moving in the wrong direction, and 56% said Trump was rushing to make changes without properly considering the impacts.
On the economy, 42% said Trump was changing things for the better, 46% for the worse. On immigration, 47% said Trump was changing things for the better, 43% for the worse. On foreign policy, 44% said Trump was changing things for the better, 49% for the worse. On each issue, skepticism was highest among Democrats but also strong among independent voters, while Republicans largely backed the president.
Half of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of Musk, while 39% said they had a favorable view of him; 44% had an unfavorable view of DOGE, while 39% had a favorable view.
A majority, 57%, expected grocery prices will increase over the next six months, while 17% said they believed prices would go down.
Trump on Tuesday said that he had inherited an “economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare” from the previous Biden administration — something Democrats and many economists dispute — and that one of his “highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families.”
To do that, he said, his administration is rolling back restrictive energy policies to “drill, baby, drill,” calling for “tax cuts for everybody,” and instituting tariffs on U.S. trading partners, the latter of which he said “will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”
Republican leaders broadly praised Trump and his speech. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally from Georgia, wore a red hat to the address that read, “Trump was right about everything.”
Still, many others around the world looked on with concern.
Trump’s remarks followed his imposition of new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China — the U.S.’ top trading partners — and promises of retaliatory measures from all three. Experts predicted American consumers would soon pay more for fresh vegetables, fruits and other perishable imports.
In announcing that Canada would immediately strike back with its own tariffs on many American goods, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Trump administration Tuesday of instigating a “dumb” trade war that would harm average Americans.
“We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally,” Trudeau told Americans. “And we don’t want to see you hurt either, but your government has chosen to do this to you.”
Trudeau’s remarks added to widespread anger among allies across Europe over Trump’s lashing out at Zelensky. On Monday, Trump doubled down by temporarily suspending all U.S. military aid to Ukraine until Zelensky falls in line with Trump’s vision for a cease-fire with Russia, a move many viewed as an ultimatum for a long-standing U.S. ally and a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. and global financial markets were clearly rattled by the tariffs and escalating tensions between the U.S. and its partners. Stocks have tumbled in recent days, wiping out much of the gains seen since Trump was elected on a business-friendly platform.
Worries about a trade war and a slowdown in the global economy Tuesday led to the Standard & Poor’s 500 index falling 1.2%, the Dow Jones industrial average sliding 1.6% and the Nasdaq composite slipping 0.4%. European markets fell sharply, stocks in Asia more modestly.
The volatility was mirrored on the domestic front, where Trump and Musk have riled Democrats and some Republicans with sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and other policies targeting vulnerable communities and constitutional rights.
In many instances, the Trump administration has admitted the cuts were poorly tailored, rushing to reinstate fired federal employees who protect the nation’s nuclear stockpile and national parks, among other things. Many of the cuts — including to social safety net programs such as Medicaid and the monitoring of infectious diseases — have been criticized as dangerous and legally dubious, including by California and other blue states, and been walked back by federal judges.
Judges have repeatedly questioned Trump’s executive power to redirect funds already appropriated by Congress, and called other Trump orders, such as one to end birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of immigrants, clearly unconstitutional.
How Trump’s aggressive approach will be received by the American public moving forward, and whether incidents such as his berating of Zelensky will affect his approval ratings, are unclear. Also unclear is whether he will respond to resistance other than by ignoring it or promising to crack down on it.
On Friday, California for the second time accused the Trump administration of ignoring a court order requiring it to release appropriated federal funding that it had unilaterally frozen, saying Federal Emergency Management Agency funds remain blocked. On Monday, Trump dismissed people criticizing his administration at recent Republican town halls as “paid ‘troublemakers.’”
Before his speech Tuesday, he said his administration will be withholding funds from colleges and universities that allow “illegal protests” on their campuses, then threatened Trudeau with even greater U.S. tariffs — calling him “Governor Trudeau,” a reference to Trump’s outlandish idea to annex Canada and make it the 51st U.S. state.
Politics
Kamala Harris blasts Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s Maduro as ‘unlawful and unwise’
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday evening condemned the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, calling the operation both “unlawful” and “unwise.”
In a lengthy post on X, Harris acknowledged that Maduro is a “brutal” and “illegitimate” dictator but said that President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela “do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.”
“Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable,” Harris wrote. “That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before.
“Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price.”
SEE PICS: VENEZUELANS WORLDWIDE CELEBRATE AS EXILES REACT TO MADURO’S CAPTURE
Vice President Kamala Harris had strong words for the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
Harris made the remarks hours after the Trump administration confirmed that Maduro and his wife were captured and transported out of Venezuela as part of “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
The former vice president also accused the administration of being motivated by oil interests rather than efforts to combat drug trafficking or promote democracy.
“The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman,” Harris said. “If he cared about either, he wouldn’t pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro’s cronies.”
SECOND FRONT: HOW A SOCIALIST CELL IN THE US MOBILIZED PRO-MADURO FOOT SOLDIERS WITHIN 12 HOURS
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after Saturday’s strikes on Venezuela. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Harris, who has been rumored as a potential Democratic contender in the 2028 presidential race, additionally accused the president of endangering U.S. troops and destabilizing the region.
“The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home,” she said. “America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and — most importantly — putting the American people first.”
MADURO’S FALL SPARKS SUSPICION OF BETRAYAL INSIDE VENEZUELA’S RULING ELITE
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch U.S. military operations in Venezuela from Mar-a-Lago in Florida early Saturday. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Maduro and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Saturday after being transported by helicopter from the DEA in Manhattan after being processed.
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Earlier in the day, Trump said that the U.S. government will “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
Harris’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
CARACAS, Venezuela — It was about 2 a.m. Saturday Caracas time when the detonations began, lighting up the sullen sky like a post-New Year’s fireworks display.
“¡Ya comenzó!” was the recurrent phrase in homes, telephone conversations and social media chats as the latest iteration of U.S. “shock and awe” rocked the Venezuelan capital. “It has begun!”
Then the question: “¿Maduro?”
The great uncertainty was the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro, who has been under Trump administration threat for months.
The scenes of revelry from a joyous Venezuelan diaspora celebrating from Miami to Madrid were not repeated here. Fear of the unknown kept most at home.
Hours would pass before news reports from outside Venezuela confirmed that U.S. forces had captured Maduro and placed him on a U.S. ship to face criminal charges in federal court in New York.
Venezuelans had watched the unfolding spectacle from their homes, using social media to exchange images of explosions and the sounds of bombardment. This moment, it was clear, was ushering in a new era of uncertainly for Venezuela, a nation reeling from a decade of economic, political and social unrest.
Government supporters display posters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, right, and former President Hugo Chávez in downtown Caracas on Saturday.
(Matias Delacroix / Associated Press)
The ultimate result was an imponderable. But that this was a transformative moment — for good or bad — seemed indisputable.
By daybreak, an uneasy calm overtook the city of more than 3 million. The explosions and the drone of U.S. aircraft ceased. Blackouts cut electricity to parts of the capital.
Pro-government youths wielding automatic rifles set up roadblocks or sped through the streets on motorcycles, a warning to those who might celebrate Maduro’s downfall.
Shops, gas stations and other businesses were mostly closed. There was little traffic.
“When I heard the explosions, I grabbed my rosary and began to pray,” said Carolina Méndez, 50, who was among the few who ventured out Saturday, seeking medicines at a pharmacy, though no personnel had arrived to attend to clients waiting on line. “I’m very scared now. That’s why I came to buy what I need.”
A sense of alarm was ubiquitous.
Motorcycles and cars line up for gas Saturday in Caracas. Most of the population stayed indoors, reluctant to leave their homes except for gas and food.
(Andrea Hernandez Briceno / For The Times)
“People are buying bottled water, milk and eggs,” said Luz Pérez, a guard at one of the few open shops, not far from La Carlota airport, one of the sites targeted by U.S. strikes. “I heard the explosions. It was very scary. But the owner decided to open anyway to help people.”
Customers were being allowed to enter three at a time. Most didn’t want to speak. Their priority was to stock up on basics and get home safely.
Rumors circulated rapidly that U.S. forces had whisked away Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
There was no immediate official confirmation here of the detention of Maduro and Flores, both wanted in the United States for drug-trafficking charges — allegations that Maduro has denounced as U.S. propaganda. But then images of an apparently captive Maduro, blindfolded, in a sweatsuit soon circulated on social media.
There was no official estimate of Venezuelan casualties in the U.S. raid.
Rumors circulated indicating that a number of top Maduro aides had been killed, among them Diosdado Cabello, the security minister who is a staunch Maduro ally. Cabello is often the face of the government.
But Cabello soon appeared on official TV denouncing “the terrorist attack against our people,” adding: “Let no one facilitate the moves of the enemy invader.”
Although Trump, in his Saturday news conference, confidently predicted that the United States would “run” Venezuela, apparently during some undefined transitional period, it’s not clear how that will be accomplished.
A key question is whether the military — long a Maduro ally — will remain loyal now that he is in U.S. custody. There was no public indication Saturday of mass defections from the Venezuelan armed forces. Nor was it clear that Maduro’s government infrastructure had lost control of the country. Official media reported declarations of loyalty from pro-government politicians and citizens from throughout Venezuela.
A billboard with an image of President Nicolas Maduro stands next to La Carlota military base in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday. The graffiti reads, “Fraud, fraud.”
(Andrea Hernandez Briceno / For The Times)
In his comments, Trump spoke of a limited U.S. troop presence in Venezuela, focused mostly on protecting the oil infrastructure that his administration says was stolen from the United States — a characterization widely rejected here, even among Maduro’s critics. But Trump offered few details on sending in U.S. personnel to facilitate what could be a tumultuous transition.
Meantime, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez surfaced on official television and demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, according to the official Telesur broadcast outlet. Her comments seemed to be the first official acknowledgment that Maduro had been taken.
“There is one president of this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” the vice president said in an address from Miraflores Palace, from where Maduro and his wife had been seized hours earlier.
During an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council, Telesur reported, Rodríguez labeled the couple’s detention an “illegal kidnapping.”
The Trump administration, the vice president charged, meant to “capture our energy, mineral and [other] natural resources.”
Her defiant words came after Trump, in his news conference, said that Rodríguez had been sworn in as the country’s interim president and had evinced a willingness to cooperate with Washington.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said.
Pro-government armed civilians patrol in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Saturday after President Trump announced that President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country.
(Matias Delacroix / Associated Press)
Somewhat surprisingly, Trump also seemed to rule out a role in an interim government for Marina Corina Machado, the Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate and longtime anti-Maduro activist.
“She’s a very nice woman, but doesn’t have respect within the country,” Trump said of Machado.
Machado is indeed a controversial figure within the fractured Venezuelan opposition. Some object to her open calls for U.S. intervention, preferring a democratic change in government.
Nonetheless, her stand-in candidate, Edmundo González, did win the presidency in national balloting last year, according to opposition activists and others, who say Maduro stole the election.
“Venezuelans, the moment of liberty has arrived!” Machado wrote in a letter released on X. “We have fought for years. … What was meant to happen is happening.”
Not everyone agreed.
“They want our oil and they say it’s theirs,” said Roberto, 65, a taxi driver who declined to give his last name for security reasons. “Venezuelans don’t agree. Yes, I think people will go out and defend their homeland.”
Special correspondent Mogollón reported from Caracas and staff writer McDonnell from Boston. Contributing was special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City.
Politics
Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu: ‘Can we just do America?’
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Sunday called for President Trump to only focus on America’s needs as the president meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The president has been heavily involved in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts since returning to the White House.
Trump met with Zelenskyy on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago to discuss a peace plan aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war that began with an invasion by Moscow in February 2022.
Netanyahu arrived in Florida on Sunday ahead of their scheduled meeting on Monday at Trump’s estate to address Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East. It will be the sixth meeting of the year between the two leaders.
TRUMP ZELENSKYY SAY UKRAINE PEACE DEAL CLOSE BUT ‘THORNY ISSUES’ REMAIN AFTER FLORIDA TALKS
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized President Donald Trump’s meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Greene, responding to Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, said that the Trump administration should address the needs of Americans rather than becoming further involved in global conflicts.
“Zelensky today. Netanyahu tomorrow,” she wrote on X.
President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
“Can we just do America?” the congresswoman continued.
The congresswoman has been a vocal critic of supplying U.S. military aid to foreign countries amid the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.
She has also referred to Zelenskyy as “a dictator who canceled elections” and labeled Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a genocide and humanitarian crisis.
ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and President Donald Trump had a public feud in recent months. (Getty Images)
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This comes after Taylor Greene, who is set to resign from the House in January, had a public spat with Trump over the past few months as Trump took issue with the Georgia Republican’s push to release documents related to the investigations into deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump had withdrawn his endorsement of Greene and called her a “traitor” over the public feud.
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