US President Donald Trump wraps up a year in office with the lowest average approval rating of any elected president in his first year.

That is according to polling by Gallup, which shows that Trump has averaged just a 39 percent approval rating since his inauguration.

The previous low was held by former President Bill Clinton, whose first-year average stood 10 points higher than Trump’s, at 49 percent.

Recent surveys show most Americans view Trump as a divisive figure and even question his fitness for office.

One relative bright spot for Trump is his handling of the economy, though even there his ratings are not as high as might be expected given a relatively strong economy.

Trump’s current approval rating in Gallup’s weekly poll is comparable to his average rating, standing at just 38 percent, with 57 percent saying they disapprove.

The persistence of Trump’s first-year blues is unprecedented for a president so early in his term. Americans usually give their new presidents the benefit of the doubt, but Trump’s “honeymoon period”, to the extent he had one, saw his approval rating only get as high as 45 percent.

Since then, Trump has spent more time under 40 percent than any other first-year president.

Presidents have recovered from periods of low popularity before. For example, Clinton’s rating fell to just 37 percent in June 1993 before quickly regaining ground, and he went on to win re-election in 1996.

Former President Harry Truman held the approval of less than 40 percent of Americans for significant chunks of his first term and was also re-elected. He went on to set Gallup’s lowest-ever approval mark, at just 22 percent in 1952.

Trump’s lowest point in Gallup’s weekly polling – 35 percent– remains higher than those of several earlier presidents. Truman, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter all had their ratings dip under 30 percent.

Aside from the economy, surveys have suggested few policy bright spots for Trump.

Healthcare has been a consistent low point. Seven in 10 Americans in the December AP-NORC poll said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the issue, even as 85% called the issue very important to them personally.

In another AP-NORC poll conducted late in 2017, just 23 percent of Americans said he has kept the promises he made while running for president, while 30 percent said he has tried and failed and 45 percent said he has not done so at all. More than half said the country is worse off since Trump became president.

But it may be character more than policy that is driving negative opinions of Trump. In the January poll by Quinnipiac University, most voters said Trump is not level-headed, honest or even fit to serve as president.

And the AP-NORC poll conducted in December found that two-thirds of Americans thought the country has become even more divided as a result of Trump’s presidency.

In a July Gallup poll that asked those who disapproved of Trump for their reasons why, most cited his personality or character over issues, policies or overall job performance. That stood in stark contrast to Gallup’s polling on Obama in 2009 and George W Bush in 2001, when far fewer cited such concerns about personality or character as reasons for their negative opinions.

(Source: AP)

US President Donald Trump believes he could easily defeat Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) if he challenged him in 2020, according to a new report, but his allies say Trump should be more concerned about a bid from Oprah Winfrey or Joe Biden.

Politico reported Monday that Trump has been speculating with aides and other Republicans about his potential Democratic challengers for the presidency, but has dismissed Sanders as a viable candidate.

Sanders wasn’t a serious threat and would be easy to beat, Trump reportedly told a Republican with close ties to the White House.

Trump, 71, has said that Sanders, 76, will not have the energy required to run for the presidency in 2020.

Trump’s aides have told him that he should be more worried about a bid from media icon and philanthropist Winfrey or former Vice President Biden.

“What we can’t let voters do is think they can get the same policies with someone they like better, like Joe Biden — someone who would fight for them but who doesn’t have the crass edge,” one former White House staffer told Politico.

“I hope CNN has [New York Senator] Kirsten Gillibrand on every minute of every day. Love it. Bring it. She’s easy to destroy. If you’re the president, or the RNC [Republican National Committee], you’re more worried about someone who looks like Biden — someone who has more mainstream appeal, who blue-collar workers could identify with.”

According to a New York Times report, Trump has predicted that Sanders would run against him in 2020 even if the senator was “in a wheelchair.”

Sanders ran as a Democrat in 2016 but lost the Democratic Party’s nomination to Clinton.

Trump won the November 8, 2016 presidential election because Democrats rigged the system to have Clinton beat Sanders, according to WikiLeaks.

According to some polls, Sanders would have defeated Trump by a large margin if he had been the Democratic presidential nominee instead of Clinton.

Sanders could have won the election but the Democratic National Committee (DNC) stopped him from doing so by pushing him out from the primary race, the whistleblowing agency said.

WikiLeaks claimed that the Democratic Party establishment conspired to ensure Clinton win the party’s presidential nomination. In doing so it chose a weaker candidate who lost the election against Trump, the agency suggested.

Although Sanders has not decided whether or not to run for the 2020 presidential election, but his recent moves appear to represent a natural next step for running.

Meanwhile, there have been speculations of Oprah Winfrey planning to challenge Trump in 2020 following a passionate speech she gave at the Golden Globes on the subject of sexual misconduct.

“Oprah would be a problem: she’d be their best,” one GOP strategist said. “She’s ubiquitous, she’s black, she has crossover appeal and she probably clears a lot of the field out.”

A new poll from conservative-leaning pollster Rasmussen shows that Winfrey would beat Trump by 10 points in a hypothetical 2020 match-up.

Forty-eight percent of the respondents said they would vote for Winfrey, while about 38 percent said they would vote to reelect Trump, and only 14 percent were undecided, according to the poll released last week.

In November last year, Biden also indicated that he may challenge Trump in 2020. He made the remarks in an interview with NBC News while promoting his new book, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.

According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll, Biden also leads Trump by 11 points in a potential 2020 matchup.

Biden is a strong critic of Trump and his leadership style. He has accused his administration of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the American values.

Biden has called Trump a “charlatan,” and accused the Republican head of state of taking advantage of frustrated middle class voters.

It seems Biden is remorseful about his decision not to run in the 2016 presidential election, and has claimed that he could have easily defeated Trump.

Biden, a favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination, announced his decision to not run for the White House in October 2015, cementing Clinton’s standing as the front-runner.

Culled from Presstv

The ambassador of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to the Republic of South Africa, Ms Jessy Itambi has handed over a strongly worded petition to the Nigerian Consulate in Pretoria on the arrest of President Ayuk Tabe including nine of his aides in Abuja.  Her Excellency Jessy Itambi who also moonlights as Ambazonia’s diplomatic representative to the SADC countries led a massive demonstration attended by hundreds of Ambazonians in South Africa.

Cameroon Concord News Bloemfontein reporter said the move taken by Ambassador Jessy Itambi is keeping with directives from the Interim Government that called on all Ambazonians in Pretoria and around the world to stage peaceful protest in front of all Nigeria foreign missions.

Ambassador Itambi further called on the Buhari administration to respect the rule of law and release the Ambazonian leadership.  The chief diplomat in South Africa pointed out that by not granting President Ayuk Tabe access to lawyers hired by the Interim Government, the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) was in violation of Section 6 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

On a lighter note, Ambassador Itambi was full of praise for the people of Nigeria and their government for helping to take care of the more than 50000 Ambazonian refugees in Nigeria. She was also grateful to the Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa HE A.I. Musa for receiving the memo informing him that “Nigeria can change friends but cannot change its neighbours.”  The Pretoria event was attended by Ambazonia’s Under Secretary for Communications, Hon. Milton Taka.

The fallout from Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis is spiraling, leading to a refugee emergency, escalating tensions with neighboring nations, and threatening to put a dent in global cocoa production.

In recent weeks, more than 15,000 people have fled the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to neighboring Nigeria, as the government intensifies its crackdown on a pro-independence movement. Dozens of people have also been killed by security forces, with Cameroonian troops even crossing into Nigeria in pursuit of the rebels in December. Suspected separatists have also killed more than 10 gendarmes (armed police).

The Anglophone regions of Cameroon erupted in protest in 2016, with people calling for more autonomy from the majority French-speaking government. While the origin of the crisis is based on the imposition of the French language in English courts and schools, it also has roots in economic marginalization and the allocation of resources. The government responded by shutting the internet and arresting protestors until detention facilities were overwhelmed. When separatists declared an independent state called Ambazonia in October, that prompted a military clampdown, violent attacks, and the flight of refugees from the area.

Last week, separatist activists including the leader of the movement Sisiku Ayuk Tabe were taken into custody while meeting in Nigeria. The arrest drew criticism from advocates, who worried that they risked torture and unfair trials if extradited to Cameroon. “Authorities in Nigeria should immediately disclose the activists’ whereabouts, allow them access to a lawyer, and unless they have sufficient evidence to charge them with a recognizable crime, release them immediately,” Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said.

The simmering tensions represent the most direct threat to president Paul Biya’s 35-year rule over the Central African nation. At 84 years of age, Biya is one of the longest-serving African leaders still in power and is expected to run in the October elections this year. As the world’s fifth largest cocoa producer, the violence also portends a problem for the nation’s cocoa output. Thousands of farmers have fled the government clampdown according to Reuters, with many saying buyers are afraid to come. One agent said the cocoa was “rotting in the bush.”

As more people cross into Nigeria, the UN refugee agency said it was working to get more refugees away from border areas, create temporary camps, and help them gain access to economic opportunities. Antonio Jose Canhandula, the agency’s representative in Nigeria, said more and more refugees kept coming. “They are still coming, and they are coming daily,” he said. “It is a crisis.”

Source: Quartz Media

US Ambassador to Panama John Feeley has resigned, saying he no longer felt able to work for President Donald Trump.

Feeley, a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, had informed the US State Department about his departure on December 27, US officials said.

His resignation was not a response to Trump’s alleged use of the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and African countries at a meeting on Thursday, reports said.

Feeley, among the State Department’s most senior officers and a Latin America specialists, said his decision was clearly prompted by differences with the Trump administration.

“As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies,” Feeley said, according to an excerpt of a resignation letter.

“My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”

A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Feeley’s departure, saying he will retire on March 9 of this year.

Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said the ambassador was leaving for “personal reasons” and was not related to Trump’s alleged use of the vulgar term.

“Everyone has a line that they will not cross,” Goldstein told reporters at the State Department. “If the ambassador feels that he can no longer serve … then he has made the right decision for himself and we respect that.”

Much of Feeley’s long career was spent working on Latin American issues. Some of Trump’s policies have been widely regarded within the region as hostile to Central and South America.

The Trump administration has taken a tougher stance on immigration from Latin America, most notably with moves to expel hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador.

During the meeting at the White House on Thursday, Trump reportedly asked why “people from shithole countries come to” the United States.

His contemptuous comments, which were about immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and African countries, have provoked sever criticism in the US and abroad.

The administration has been rocked by a series of high-profile exits — including Sean Spicer as press secretary, James Comey as FBI director, Anthony Scaramucci as communications director and Steve Bannon as chief strategist— since Trump took office.

Source: Presstv

The United Kingdom’s ambassador to Iran says the Islamic Republic’s domestic affairs, including recent riots, are none of his country’s business and that the UK will stay out of Iranian internal affairs.

Ambassador Nicholas Hopton made the remarks in a gathering titled “Europe and the Geopolitical Affairs of West Asia,” which was being hosted by Iranian think tank the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday evening.

Some two weeks ago, some peaceful protests were held in Iranian cities against price hikes and the overall economic condition of the country. Limited numbers of violent individuals, some of them armed, later sought to turn the peaceful protests into street riots. However, the original protesters soon heeded calls by authorities to leave the streets so that their legitimate activities would not play into the hands of violent rioters.

While sporadic violence continued for several days — and claimed the lives of over a dozen people — the riots gradually ended.

In the course of those events, some British media outlets provided controversial coverage of the developments.

Hopton sought to distance the British government away from such coverage. He said the British media made their own editorial decisions and the UK government “exercised no control” over them.

He did express concern about some of the coverage of the events in Iran by the media in his country, however.

“The position held by the British government is that Iran’s domestic affairs are the concern of the country [itself]. The Iranian people should decide for themselves and freedom of expression and the freedom to express protest are the rights of the people,” he said.

“What the protesters seek is none of our and the British government’s business, and the UK government will not interfere,” he stressed.

Last Thursday, it was reported that Iran’s Embassy in London had submitted a letter of complaint to the British media regulator Ofcom, denouncing the propaganda campaign launched by UK-based Persian-language broadcasters covering the riots.

The letter, the source said, pointed out that the outlets had acted in clear contravention of the British and international media regulations by trying to incite the protesters in Iran to resort to riots and armed violence.

London ‘committed to JCPOA’

Elsewhere in his remarks, Hopton said London was “fully” committed to a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six other countries on the Iranian nuclear program.

The agreement removed nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran, which, in turn, applied certain limits to its nuclear energy program.

The British ambassador pointed to the likelihood that the United States may unilaterally withdraw from the deal and said he hoped US President Donald Trump would make the right decision.

Trump faces a Friday deadline to announce whether he would certify Iranian compliance with the deal under domestic US law. He has once certified that compliance but decertified it another time. He sees the deal as a legacy of his predecessor — former president Barack Obama — that he should undo.

The United Nations and every other party to the deal have warned Washington against trying to harm the deal, calling it a triumph for diplomacy and a contributing factor to regional and international peace and security.

US President Donald Trump says he could beat  media proprietor, talk show host Oprah Winfrey in the 2020 presidential race, but does not think she will run.

“Yeah, I’ll beat Oprah. Oprah will be lots of fun,” he told reporters during a meeting with lawmakers on Tuesday. “I don’t think she’s going to run.”

I “did one of her last shows,” Trump said. “I like Oprah,” he added.

Winfrey’s rousing speech at the Golden Globes awards ignited speculation that she could run for president in 2020. She accepted the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award on Sunday; the first black woman to be awarded the prize.

“I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say “me too” again!” she said in the speech.

Gayle King, a close friend with Winfrey, said on “CBS This Morning” earlier Tuesday that Winfrey finds the idea “intriguing” but added that she doesn’t believe Winfrey is actually considering it right now.

“I don’t think at this point she is actually considering it” King said. “I also know, after years of watching the Oprah show, you always have the right to change your mind.”

Winfrey, an African-American woman who survived rape and grew up in poverty, is a self-made billionaire capable of emotionally connecting with ordinary Americans through the media.

Winfrey threw her weight behind US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, supporting Clinton in the battle against Trump.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dipped to 37 percent following a week of controversial allegations detailed in a new book about the New York billionaire.

Days after he took office last January, Trump’s Gallup approval rating stood at 45 percent. It declined throughout 2017, save for a few instances when it rose, and closed the year at 39 percent.

The majority of recent polls have pegged Trump’s approval rating in the 30s and low 40s.

The recent release of Michael Wolff’s book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” has apparently hurt his approval ratings further.

The newly published best-seller provides a behind-the-scene look at Trump’s White House and contains numerous allegations about the administration depicting him as a child who feeds off instant gratification.

Trump has lashed out at the blockbuster book calling it a “fake book” that has been written by a “totally discredited author.”

The author is, meanwhile, defending his book vehemently despite the White House describing it as pure fantasy. Wolff has gone so far to say that his revelations will end the US president’s tenure.

Source: Presstv