Inside the Beltway: Trump to host 30th rally of the year

NEWS AND OPINION:

Former President Donald Trump turns 77 on his next birthday in June. His upcoming schedule, however, does not look like it was planned by a septuagenarian. He is about to mark his 30th political rally of the year in an upcoming event.

“Donald Trump has scheduled massive events in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio,” writes Nate Ashworth, founder of Election Central, an online political resource found at USpresidentialelectionnews.com

“He will continue making his imprint on the Nov. 8 midterm elections with the announcement of four upcoming Save America rallies to support various Republican candidates in races around the country. Trump will be crisscrossing into some of the most critical battleground states where control of the House and Senate will be decided. The rallies do not come without intrigue, of course, since there is likely no coincidence one of the stops is in Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state for the 2024 presidential primary,” Mr. Ashworth advised.

For those who may wonder, these four upcoming events bring his total number of rallies for the year to 30, according to a Beltway count. This schedule will take him and his cause — whatever that might be — right up to Nov. 7 — election eve.

Find the current plans at Donaldjtrump.com/events.

GUTFELD RULES LATE NIGHT

There is a great rush to amuse Americans after hours. One host does it better than the rest.

Fox News Channel late-night guy Greg Gutfeld — host of the aptly named “Gutfeld!” — delivered his highest-rated program in its history this week, enjoying an audience of 2.5 million viewers. He also managed to defeat every one of his rivals in broadcast and cable TV in the process.

The telling numbers literally tell all.

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS was in second place with 2.1 million, followed by NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” (1.3 million); ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (1.2 million); MSNBC’s “11th Hour” (953,000); CBS’ “Late Late Show” (796.000); ABC’s “Nightline” (724,000); Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” (443,000); and CNN’s “Tonight” (412,000).

10 THOUSAND ZILLION

Those who study the vast workings of the federal government will often marvel — or shrink from — the many, many federal regulations that affect activities of many descriptions. There is a handy guide to the, however, which also offers some snappy analysis of the phenomenon.

That would be “Ten Thousand Commandments,” an annual survey of the size, scope and cost of these regulations which is published each year by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Written by Wayne Crews, the organization’s vice president for policy, this marks the 28th year that the project has been completed and released.

It’s 150 pages long.

“Federal government spending, deficits, and the national debt are staggering, but so is the impact of federal regulations. Unfortunately, the financial impact of these rules gets little attention in policy debates because, unlike spending and taxes, they are unbudgeted and difficult to quantify,” the institute says in an introduction to the project.

“By making Washington’s rules and mandates more comprehensible, Wayne Crews underscores the need for more review, transparency, and accountability for new and existing federal regulations,” it advises.

Mr. Crews offers insight into the trajectory of federal regulations, hidden taxes and other hair-raising and unthinkably expensive examples from both the Trump and  Biden administrations.

Curious? Find the entire report at CEI.org — right on the landing page and just under the organization’s motto: “We fight for less regulation, more freedom, and fairness for all.”

MEDIA WOES CONTINUE

“Trust in the media is stuck in the mud,” advises Gallup, which has followed the ups and downs of the news media for many decades.

“Just 7% of Americans have ‘a great deal’ of trust and confidence in the media, and 27% have ‘a fair amount.’ Meanwhile, 28% of U.S. adults say they do not have very much confidence and 38% have none at all in newspapers, TV and radio,” wrote Gallup analyst Megan Brenan.

“Americans’ confidence in the media has been anemic for nearly two decades, and Gallup’s latest findings further document that distrust. The current level of public trust in the media’s full, fair and accurate reporting of the news is the second lowest on record,” she said.

And it’s complicated.

“Americans’ trust in the media remains sharply polarized along partisan lines, with 70% of Democrats, 14% of Republicans and 27% of independents saying they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence. These divisions are entrenched and show no signs of abating,” Ms. Brenan said.

The poll of 812 U.S. adults was conducted Sept. 1-16 and released Oct. 18.

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

For sale: Classic Tudor mansion designed by architect Robert O. Derrick, built on a half-acre in 1923 in Detroit. Seven bedrooms, five baths, formal dining and living rooms, marble flooring, 6-foot limestone fireplace plus three more fireplaces, original woodworking, classic windows; 7,538 square feet, carefully renovated. Gourmet kitchen, terracotta-tiled sunroom, library, grand staircase and foyer, multiple gathering rooms, two laundry rooms, attached two-car garage. Manicured grounds, established trees and lawns. Priced at $1.4 million through RocketHomes.com; enter 60155215 in the search function.

POLL DU JOUR

• 34% of U.S. adults are paying “a lot of attention” to the 2022 congressional elections; 39% of Republicans, 26% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.

• 22% of Blacks, 37% of Whites and 27% of Hispanics also agree.

• 41% overall are paying “a little” attention to the elections; 41% of Republicans, 38% of independents and 45% of Democrats agree.

• 47% of Blacks, 40% of Whites and 40% of Hispanics also agree.

• 25% overall pay “no attention at all” to the elections; 20% of Republicans, 36% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.

• 30% of Blacks, 23% of Whites and 33% of Hispanics also agree.

SOURCE: An Economist/ YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted Oct. 16-18.

• Helpful information to [email protected]