Red tsunami on the way, as Biden popularity craters

NEWS AND OPINION:

Can it get any worse for the White House? Uh, yes.

“How low can President Biden go in the polls?” asked CNN, citing the popularity plunge in three separate polls this week from Gallup, Pew Research Center and Monmouth University.

Monmouth, in fact, offered a particularly merciless survey.

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“President Biden’s overall job rating continues to trend downward. Currently, just 36% approve of the job he is doing while 58% disapprove. It has now been a year since he held a net positive rating (48% approve and 44% disapprove in July 2021). Just 10% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction while 88% say it is on the wrong track. This marks an all-time low for this question going back to 2013,” the poll analysis said.

In the meantime, the proverbial “red wave” of public support for Republicans in the midterm election has reached tidal wave proportions, some say.

“As they approach a red tsunami midterm, the Democrats have no one to blame but themselves. Normal Democrats are increasingly open about their disappointment with President Biden,” advised Jim Geraghty, a National Review columnist.

He cited the Monmouth poll which found that the president’s overall job approval is down to a skinny 36%.

“If you follow politics, you know the usual split in these polls by party. Usually only about 10 percent of the opposition-party respondents approve of the job the president is doing, usually almost all of the members of the president’s party approve, and independents are usually roughly evenly split,” Mr. Geraghty wrote.

Which is not good for Mr. Biden’s approval ratings.

“His numbers are in the toilet. Whatever he’s doing is not working,” an unnamed Democratic congressman told NBC News.

“Economic concerns are the biggest concern for two-thirds of voters — 67%,” advises Mike Berg, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, citing the Monmouth findings that economic challenges topped the list of voter worries — including such matters as inflation, gas prices, household bills, tuition, and housing and rent costs.

“Concern about abortion clocked in at 5%,” Mr. Berg noted in a statement.

“The economy is far and away the biggest issue headed into the midterms, and on that measure, Democrats have been a complete failure,” he said.

FOR THE LEXICON

“Biden failure tour.”

This phrase comes from Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, inspired by President Biden’s Wednesday visit to Cleveland to talk up his ideas about pensions and worker’s benefits.

“Another Biden failure tour stop will not help struggling families and small businesses. Joe Biden is a burden to every Buckeye Democrat, as Ohioans know that the left’s agenda has made it more difficult for Americans to get by,” Mrs. McDaniel said in a statement.

NEWS FOR ‘DIGITAL NOMADS’

The world of the “remote worker” just got a little wider. Please meet the “digital nomad worker.”

Those who are fond of working remotely now have some destination cities with positive and pleasing attributes to consider. Reviews.org — which indeed reviews internet-related services and products — have identified the best U.S. cities for “digital nomads” who prefer a flexible lifestyle and a strong, reliable internet connection.

These cities are better than others when it comes to the availability of nimble internet speeds, short-term rentals, local appeal, nifty restaurants and other factors.

All that said, here are the top-10 spots for the productive and discerning digital nomad worker: Seattle is in first place, followed by Portland, Oregon; Chicago; Atlanta; San Jose, California; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; New York City; Philadelphia; and Denver.

SCIENCE CORNER

Will our emails, online banking and computer-based commerce be safer from hacks and invasions in future days? Could be.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology — that’s NIST for short — has announced the existence of the first series of “quantum-resistant computer algorithms,” considered a major development to secure digital information in “a post-quantum world.” Alexandra Kelley, a staff correspondent for NextGov.com, offers the details.

“NIST officials identified four encryption tools specifically designed to withstand future hacking by a quantum machine. Cybersecurity in the age of viable quantum computers has been of paramount concern, with its computing power strong enough to break through conventional algorithms and access sensitive data,” Ms. Kelley wrote.

“The four algorithms contribute to NIST’s ongoing post-quantum cryptographic standard, and will be finalized in roughly two years. They are available on NIST’s website, and are referred to as Crystals-Kyber, Crystals-Dilithium, Falcon and SPHINCS+,” she said.

The announcement is an “important milestone” in cybersecurity, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

“Thanks to NIST’s expertise and commitment to cutting-edge technology, we are able to take the necessary steps to secure electronic information so U.S. businesses can continue innovating while maintaining the trust and confidence of their customers,” she said.

FOXIFIED

During the week of June 27-July 3, Fox News Channel marked its third consecutive week as the top network in the entire cable realm, drawing a daily average of 2.1 million primetime viewers, besting such non-news rivals as HGTV, Discovery Channel, Hallmark and TLC.

The network was also victorious over MSNBC, which had a primetime audience of 1.5 million and CNN, which attracted 672,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, “The Five” continues to draw the largest audiences of all with 3.2 million viewers, Another standout is “Fox & Friends,” a daily morning show with an average audience of 1.3 million in the study period. In contrast, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” pulled in 919,000 viewers while CNN’s morning show “New Day” managed to draw 367,000 viewers.

POLL DU JOUR

• 39% of U.S. adults expect the Republican Party to win the majority in the U.S. Senate.

• 21% expect the Democratic Party to win control of the Senate.

• 13% expect the Senate to remain evenly divided between the two major parties.

• 28% are not sure which party will win the Senate.

SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted July 2-5.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @Harperbulletin.