| | | | Numbers that should make Donald Trump smile | | During the 2016 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump couldn't go five lines in a speech without mentioning his poll numbers and how good they were.
Trump has gone silent on polls since taking over the White House, however, as his numbers have consistently been at or below historic levels for a president at this point in his term.
But, two new polls -- one from CNN, one from NBC and the Wall Street Journal -- provide a whiff of good news for Trump.
In the CNN poll, Trump's approval is up to 40%, a slight improvement over his 38% approval in August. NBC-WSJ has Trump at 43% approval and 52% disapproval, again an improvement from August, when his approval was 39%.
What explains the marginal improvement in Trump's numbers? A few things:
1. People like his response to the hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Two-thirds of people (64%) in the CNN poll approved of the "federal government's response to recent hurricanes" including 44% (!) of Democrats.
2. People are getting more confident in the economy. In the CNN poll, 63% said the thought the economic conditions in the country were either "very" (10%) or "somewhat" (53%) good. That's a major rise in confidence since even last summer, when just 45% said the same.
3. The debt ceiling deal Trump cut with congressional Democrats was very popular with voters. Seven in 10 in the NBC-WSJ poll approved of the deal -- 30 points higher than the next most popular thing Trump has done.
There's a blueprint here for future Trump success (or, at least, improvement): Talk relentlessly about the economy and jobs, be an effective manager in crisis and continue to work with Democrats to make deals when it makes sense to do so.
Of course, Trump isn't big on following blueprints. Even successful ones.
-- Chris | | FACEBOOK'S ELECTION INTEGRITY PLAN | | | Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg -- whose recent cross-country road trip has some speculating about a potential 2020 run -- went live on his platform Thursday to talk about election integrity. Here's Facebook's nine-point plan to deal with election interference, as outlined in Zuckerberg's full note on Facebook. 1. Work with the US government on Russian interference in the 2016 election. So far, Zuckerberg said Facebook has provided information to special counsel and briefed Congress. The tech company is limited about what it can share about its findings publicly, but Zuckerberg expects the government will publish findings shortly.
2. Continue investigation into what happened on Facebook during the 2016 election.
3. Make political advertising more transparent. Zuckerberg said in the coming months, Facebook will roll out a feature where users will "have to disclose which page paid for an ad" and the platform will "also make it so you can visit an advertiser's page and see the ads they're currently running to any audience on Facebook."
4. Strengthen the ad review process for political ads
5. Increase investment in security and election integrity. Zuckerberg said Facebook is going to "more than double the team working on election integrity" by adding 250 people to teams focused on security and safety for the community.
6. Expand its partnerships with election commissions around the world.
7. Share threat information with other tech and security companies.
8. Better protect the FB community "while engaging in political discourse." For example, Zuckerberg said the platform hopes to adapt its anti-bullying systems to protect against political harassment.
9. Ensure the integrity of the German elections by "taking actions against thousands of fake accounts," "partnering with public authorities like the Federal Office for Information Security," and "sharing security practices with the candidates and parties."
For more, check out CNN's Dylan Byers and Heather Kelly's article. | | | Who knew Jake Gyllenhaal could sing? Earlier this year, the actor starred in the musical "Sunday In The Park With George." The cast album is available to stream beginning tomorrow. NPR Music teased the album on Thursday by featuring one song, "Move On," featuring Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford. | | SOTOMAYOR ON CIVIC EDUCATION | | Saba attended a panel at the Newseum Thursday, where CNN's Nia-Malika Henderson interviewed US Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor about why civic education is critical to sustaining our democracy,
Here are some of the best quotes from the Q&A: - On Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: "My idea of a career was to be a working lawyer. I had no real expectation or understanding that I could do more than just be a lawyer, until Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the court in 1980. She became my hope that I could do more in the law than I ever imagined."
- On angry moms who complained about her "Sesame Street" appearance: "I disappointed their young girls from believing they could grow up to be princesses."
- On importance of civic education: "For me, civic education is the key to inspiring kids to want to stay involved in making a difference."
- On whether it's OK to quote her: "Forever, yes."
- On listening to others, even when you disagree: "I'm often asked how on the Supreme Court we manage to maintain civility despite the fact that we are very different -- at moments -- in our rulings. And my answer always is because we start from the premise that we are people of good faith."
Read Saba's full story here. | | Speaking of Sotomayor...
CNN's Brenna Williams did this week's CNN Politics #TBT on the justice, who is the first Hispanic person on the Supreme Court. Fun fact: Sotomayor, who went to Princeton University, grew up wanting to be Nancy Drew. Brenna writes:
Justice Sotomayor didn't become a teen detective. Instead, she made history. "I noticed that (fictional defense attorney) Perry Mason was involved in a lot of the same kinds of investigative work that I had been fascinated with reading Nancy Drew, so I decided to become a lawyer," Sotomayor said in 2000 of her Drew dreams. "Once I focused on becoming a lawyer, I never deviated from that goal." Check out more in Brenna's full story here. | | Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates is joining Georgetown University Law School as a distinguished lecturer, according to the school. She will also deliver a major lecture there on November 1.
"Sally Yates is an extraordinary public servant who has had a career of the greatest consequence," Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor said in a press release. "It is a privilege to have her join our faculty this fall."
Yates is not the only person Trump fired who went on to become a lecturer. In August, Howard University announced ousted FBI Director James Comey "will kick off the school year with an address to the university and engage the Howard community through a lecture series designed to foster fruitful discussion and spur meaningful interaction." | | HEALTH CARE & THE NEED FOR SPEED | | Republicans in the Senate have nine days left before a crucial deadline to pass their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
CNN's Poll/data master Ryan Struyk writes:
If Republicans are able to cobble together the votes for the Graham-Cassidy health care plan and pass it before September 30, it would be one speedy legislative sprint. But just how speedy?
Only 4% of bills signed into law over the last four decades have taken 10 days or fewer from introduction to becoming a law on the books, according to a CNN analysis of almost 12,000 laws passed since 1977, when this data became available.
The Senate has until only September 30 to pass a health care reform plan under rules that bypass the 60-vote threshold and allow the chamber to pass a bill with only 51 votes.
Read more in Ryan's article from Wednesday here. And for more on health care state of play, read CNN's Phil Mattingly's recent story. | | | Whoops, we misspelled Sergey Kislyak's name in yesterday's edition of the Point. We apologize for the error. | |  | | H/T Brenna | | | Sean Spicer's note to Mike Allen reminded us of this "Saturday Night Live" Melissa McCarthy moment. Before you roll into your Friday, remind your friends to subscribe! | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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