Youngkin grants clemency to fired police sergeant convicted after fatally shooting unarmed man
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, granted clemency to a fired police sergeant just days after the officer was sentenced to prison in connection with shooting and killing an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses. Wesley Shifflett, 36, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison after he was found guilty of recklessly handling a firearm in the Feb. 22, 2023, killing of 37-year-old Timothy McCree Johnson. He was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in Johnson’s death. Youngkin granted Shifflett clemency on Sunday, allowing the officer to be freed from prison, although his felony conviction will remain. “I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system—that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences,” Youngkin said in a statement. “I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months’ incarceration.” GOV. GLENN YOUNGKIN OFFERS SUPPORT TO FEDERAL WORKERS FIRED BY DOGE: ‘WE CARE ABOUT YOU’ “In this case, the court rejected the Senior Probation and Parole Officer’s recommendation of no incarceration nor supervised probation and instead imposed a sentence of five years’ incarceration with two suspended and an additional five years of probation,” the governor continued. “Sgt. Shifflett has no prior criminal record, and was, by all accounts, an exemplary police officer. It is in the interest of justice that he be released immediately.” Youngkin also noted that his clemency does not limit Shifflett’s right to appeal his conviction for reckless discharge of a firearm. Johnson’s mother, Melissa Johnson, said Youngkin’s decision felt as if it validated Shifflett’s killing of her son. “Why now do we find it necessary to vacate or not consider the jury’s verdict, and to think that this honorable and fair judge did not sentence within the guidelines that he was afforded to?” she said at a news conference on Monday. “I don’t know where everyone’s coming from — if it’s because my son was Black, or because it was attempted shoplifting, or because he’s not here to defend himself.” Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat whose office prosecuted the case, said at the news conference that the governor “stuck his face in where it didn’t belong.” “If you care about having a fair justice system of Virginia that’s untainted by outside influence, Glenn Youngkin just spit your face,” Descano said. Descano also argued that the governor was siding with a “White officer that was convicted of a crime that ended in a Black man being killed.” During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shifflett, who at the time was a sergeant with Fairfax County police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed Johnson after a short foot pursuit outside Tysons Corner Center. Police had received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store. Shifflett and another officer chased Johnson into a densely wooded area near the mall before Shifflett shot twice at Johnson, who was unarmed. The former sergeant testified that he shot Johnson in self-defense after he believed Johnson reached into his waistband once he fell. Body camera video played during the trial showed Shifflett yelling “Get on the ground” before firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After firing his weapon, Shifflett immediately shouted, “Stop reaching,” and purported to other officers that he observed Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. Shifflett testified that his “motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize.” VIRGINIA GOVERNOR PROMISES ‘FULL COOPERATION’ WITH ICE TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Johnson was heard in the footage saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I don’t have nothing.” Melissa Robey, executive director of the police advocacy group We Black Blue, said Monday that Shifflett’s mother called her three weeks ago about her son’s upcoming sentencing hearing to ask for help. Robey, who previously worked in Youngkin’s administration, said she contacted Shifflett’s attorneys, who ultimately lobbied the governor for clemency. “Somebody’s got to say ‘Enough is enough,’” Robey said. “These guys put that uniform on every single day — they’re there for your worst day. When is it time to stand up for them?” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New polls reveal which White House term showed stronger polling numbers for Trump
President Donald Trump is expected to showcase the avalanche of activity during his first six weeks in the White House when he heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to deliver a primetime address to Congress and the nation. “Best Opening Month of any President in history,” Trump wrote in a social media post last week, as he touted his accomplishments – many of them controversial – since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump, on the eve of his first major speech to Congress during his second presidential administration, vowed that “TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG. I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS!” However, the latest polls indicate Americans are divided on the job he’s done so far in the White House. TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TUESDAY NIGHT ON FOX NEWS Trump stands at 45% approval and 49% disapproval in one of the latest polls, a Marist College for PBS News and NPR. Additionally, a CNN survey, also conducted last week, put the president’s approval rating at 48%, with 52% disapproving. Meanwhile, Trump’s approval ratings were slightly above water in other new polls, including one for CBS News that was also in the field in recent days and released over the weekend. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING With the president an extremely polarizing and larger-than-life politician, it is no surprise that the latest polls indicate a massive partisan divide over Trump’s performance. The surveys spotlight that the vast majority of Democrats give the president a big thumbs down, while Republicans overwhelmingly approve of the job he is doing in office. While Americans are split on Trump’s performance, the approval ratings for his second term are an improvement from his first tour of duty, when he started 2017 in negative territory and remained underwater throughout his four-year tenure in the White House. One reason – Trump nowadays enjoys rock solid Republican support. “He never had support among Democrats in the first administration, but he also had some trouble with Republicans,” Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas, noted. Shaw, who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, emphasized “that’s one acute difference between 2017 and 2025. The party’s completely solidified behind him.” Trump has been moving at warp speed during his opening six weeks back in the White House with a flurry of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly put his stamp on the federal government, make major cuts to the federal workforce and also settle some long-standing grievances. FIRST ON FOX: WHAT TRUMP WILL SAY IN HIS PRIMETIME SPEECH Trump as of Monday had signed 81 executive orders since his Jan. 20 inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any recent presidential predecessors during their first weeks in office. Expect Trump in his address to Congress and the nation to showcase the moves – many of them controversial – that he has taken so far. That includes a high-profile crackdown on immigration, threatening tariffs on major trading partners, including Canada and Mexico, and upending the nation’s international agenda and freezing foreign aid. TOP WILDEST MOMENTS FROM PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES TO CONGRESS “It’s been a flooding-of-the-zone here every day, often multiple times a day,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, told Fox News Digital. “We’re just seeing a lot of things happening with little time for the public to digest. The net effect of it all is there’s a sense, on the part of the public, that some things are moving just a little too fast.” While an improvement over his first term, Trump’s approval ratings are lower six weeks into his presidency than any of his recent predecessors in the White House. Shaw noted that neither Trump nor former President Joe Biden “started out with overwhelming approval. This is not like the honeymoon period that we historically expect presidents to enjoy….Historically the other side gives you a little bit of leeway when you first come in. That just doesn’t happen anymore.” Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during the first six months of his single term as president, with his disapproval in the upper 30s to the low to mid 40s. However, Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico. Biden’s approval ratings stayed underwater throughout the rest of his presidency. “He just got crippled and never recovered,” Shaw said of Biden. An average of all the most recent national polls indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are just above water. However, Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since returning to the White House in late January, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid 40s. “The honeymoon is over, and he’s actually governing, and that typically does bring numbers down,” veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, the president of New Hampshire-based New England College, told Fox News Digital. “I expect the numbers to continue to slip as the changes in Washington really do begin to impact people’s everyday lives.” Shaw noted that Trump’s “rating on the economy is about minus four, which is 25 points better than Biden. He’s above water on immigration. His best issue right now is crime. He’s plus ten on crime.” However, Shaw emphasized that inflation, the issue that helped propel Trump back into the White House, remains critical to the president’s political fortunes. “If prices remain high, he’s going to have trouble,” Shaw warned.
Liz Cheney fundraises off explosive Trump, Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting
Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., is fundraising off Friday’s explosive Oval Office meeting last week that left Europe and other U.S. allies shaken and frustrated. Cheney’s group, Our Great Task, emailed donors suggesting that President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk were “tools of the Kremlin.” “Too many leaders in Washington are afraid to speak the truth, afraid to stand up for the fundamental values and institutions that safeguard our Republic. And now, Donald Trump is attempting to put America on Putin’s side as he continues his brutal assault on Ukraine,” the message read. “Here’s some truth: Putin invaded Ukraine. NATO is the most successful military alliance in history. Since 1945, American leadership has ensured freedom and security for ourselves and millions of others around the world. Together with our allies, we defeated the Soviet Union — an evil empire that had to build gulags and walls to keep its own people in.” TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE’S READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE She accused Trump of “appeasement” tactics with Russia’s strongman president, Vladimir Putin. “Donald Trump, JD Vance and Elon Musk have made clear who they are. Only naive fools—or tools of the Kremlin—would abandon NATO, side with Russia, and demand Ukraine surrender in the face of Putin’s brutal aggression,” her email continued. “We all have an obligation at this moment to be the guardrails of democracy, to speak truth to power to defend the rule of law, American freedom, and the Constitution itself.” It ended with the appeal, “Please join me today — donate now to help elect leaders of courage and honor, to show that the determination of those who love freedom is greater than the dedication of those who would destroy it.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was kicked out of the White House by Trump’s top foreign affairs officials on Friday after an intense meeting where he and U.S. leaders traded verbal jabs in front of dozens of journalists and the rest of the world. He had been in Washington to sign an anticipated deal giving the U.S. access to profits from Kyiv’s rare earth mineral deposits. Instead, the meeting devolved into Zelenskyy and Vance talking over each other, with Trump accusing Zelenskyy of toying with World War III. The Ukrainian leader wanted more assurances of security guarantees beyond the vague contours of the deal, which Trump officials criticized. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on “Sunday Morning Futures” over the weekend of Zelenskyy’s demands, “It’s just ridiculous. His requests were ridiculous. They were not reasonable.” There is still no public resolution as of Monday afternoon, but the sit-down fractured the continuously shrinking bloc of Republicans who support continued aid to Ukraine. JD VANCE STEPS INTO SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., compared Trump and Vance to Democrats of the late 20th century who favored Soviet appeasement and said the U.S. was now “on the wrong side” of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Others, like Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., lamented that Russia came out the winner in the fight but did not place blame on Trump. And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., known as both a top Trump ally and Ukraine supporter, praised the president’s handling of the situation and called on Zelenskyy to step away from leadership. When Fox News Digital reached out for comment on Cheney’s email, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly simply replied, “Who?”
India heading towards obesity epidemic? Lancet Study warns country could have over 440 million overweight people by…
According to the study, already almost half the world’s adults — a billion men and over a billion women aged 25 years and above — were overweight and obese in 2021. In India, the numbers were over nearly 180 million — 81 million men and 98 million women.
$36 trillion national debt inspires new ‘fiscal responsibility’ group led by Democrat
FIRST ON FOX: The advocacy group Concord Coalition has tapped former Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Ga., to lead its new “fiscal responsibility” group aimed at lowering the country’s $36 trillion in national debt. Concord Action said they will lead a grassroots effort to achieve a “sustainable” national budget. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of the launch, Bourdeaux, the group’s president and executive director, previewed Concord Action’s plan to pressure Congress to balance the budget. “We are getting ready to launch Concord Action, which will complement the Concord Coalition and is intended to build on all the grassroots energy out there around the debt and deficit, to try to start moving the needle in Congress to bring fiscal responsibility and fiscal discipline to Washington,” Bourdeaux said. Bordeaux, who represented Georgia’s 7th Congressional District for one term beginning in 2021, worked on bipartisan legislation to tackle the national budget crisis during her tenure. She was a member of the Blue Dog Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Government Reform, a national group that says it’s committed to reducing the federal deficit through bipartisan policy development. TRUMP BUDGET BILL EXTENDING FIRST-TERM TAX CUTS SURVIVES HOUSE VOTE TRUMP’S ‘GOLD CARD’ VISA PLAN A BOON FOR AMERICAN ECONOMY, EXPERT SAYS: ‘MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL’ Georgia had a Republican-led legislature while Bourdeaux led Georgia’s Senate Budget and Evaluation Office from 2007 to 2010. Bourdeaux played an advisory role to the Georgia State Senate in balancing the budget during the 2008 economic downturn. “I was director of Georgia’s Senate Budget and Evaluation Office during the Great Recession,” Bourdeaux said. “I helped Georgia balance its budget during the worst fiscal crisis in modern memory. One message coming out of that is it can be done. I was working largely with the Republican leadership to balance the budget. But when we did that, those budgets passed by broad and bipartisan majorities. So this can be done through our regular democratic processes. I want to bring that sensibility to what we’re working on here in Concord.” Bordeaux said to expect a digital campaign with a newsletter to get the public involved in Concord Action’s grassroots efforts. There will also be a town hall element to build energy on the ground. A 2024 Fox News Voter Analysis found the economy was the top issue for Americans, with 4 in 10 voters saying inflation was the most important factor in their vote. Voters had a negative view of the economy, with almost two-thirds rating the economy as not good, 40%, or downright poor, 24%. As the country approaches another government shutdown deadline and Congress begins budget negotiations for fiscal 2026, Bordeaux said it’s a necessary time to launch Concord Action. “I think the issue of the debt and deficit is particularly salient to everyone,” Bordeaux said. “We’ve obviously just been through inflation. We’ve seen interest rates rise. So it really is top of mind for lots of Americans right now.” Concord Action said they will pressure Congress to stop adding to the federal debt and create a “sustainable budget” through “fiscal responsibility.” “We just experienced some pretty serious inflation, and it was driven in part by the deficit in the growing debt,” Bordeaux said. “We are $36 trillion in debt right now just based on our current trajectory. The Congressional Budget Office thinks we will add another $25 trillion to that,” she said. “We are spending more on just the interest on debt than we spend on national defense, more than we even spend on Medicare. It’s really starting to put a lot of pressure on a lot of big priorities that we have for this country. It is extremely important that we address this now.”
Former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s daughter seen hitting driver with slipper in viral video, alleges harassment; WATCH
In the video, Prajoyeeta Kashyap can be seen repeatedly hitting a kneeling man with slippers. Several people can be seen watching on. The incident reportedly occurred on the campus of an MLA hostel in the state capital Dispur.
Calling someone ‘miyan-tiyan,’ ‘Pakistani’ in poor taste but not an offence: SC
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma therefore discharged a man in a criminal case filed by a Urdu translator and acting clerk Right to Information (RTI) in the sub-divisional office, Chas in Jharkhand.
Riley Gaines, DOGE, Silk Road: Who’s in the audience for Trump speech to Congress?
Former NCAA athlete Riley Gaines, Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, and a state-level DOGE official are just some of the faces Americans will get a glimpse of inside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night. Members of Congress spoke with Fox News Digital about their guests for President Donald Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress for his second term. Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said she invited Gaines after they both attended a White House event where Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting transgender athletes’ participation in school sports. Girls’ sports was a top issue for Miller-Meeks during her close House race in 2024. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital he would be bringing Ross Ulbricht, founder of the darkweb platform Silk Road. TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TUESDAY NIGHT ON FOX NEWS His operation of the site, which was known for facilitating the trafficking of firearms and narcotics, saw him get arrested by the FBI and hit with a sentence of double life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Ulbricht was pardoned by Trump, who called him a victim of a weaponized government. In another nod to the Trump administration’s work so far, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, is attending the speech with the chair of her home state’s own DOGE task force. Emily Schmitt, who works as chief administrative officer and general counsel for Sukup grain manufacturing company, was appointed to the role by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds following Trump’s own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, led by Elon Musk. Hinson herself is a member of the House DOGE Caucus. Among the guests of House GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., are U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame honorees Buzz Schneider and Rob McClanahan. The Minnesota natives were part of the Gold Medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team. TRUMP’S UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF EXECUTIVE ACTION Their victory over the Soviet Union that year inspired the sports film, “Miracle on Ice.” Guests invited by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., were a nod to Republicans’ backing of law enforcement, Fox News Digital learned. Roy’s guest is Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez. Johnson is bringing Meade County Sheriff Pat West, who solved a sex trafficking case involving a 13-year-old girl who was abducted by a 33-year-old male sex offender, the congressman’s office said. The border also remains a top issue for Republicans, which Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is reflecting by inviting the father of Sarah Root, an Iowa native who was killed by an illegal immigrant. A provision known as “Sarah’s Law” made it into the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Trump signed when he returned to office. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are using their guest tickets to message against Trump’s policies. TOP WILDEST MOMENTS FROM PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES TO CONGRESS Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mark Warner of Virginia, and Rep. April McClain Delaney of Maryland, are bringing former federal workers who lost their jobs during Trump and Musk’s DOGE housecleaning efforts. Warner’s office told Fox News Digital the senator was “bringing a laid-off park ranger from the Fredericksburg national battlefield.” “She is a cancer survivor who now has no health insurance,” Warner’s office said of his guest. Not all Democrats are following suit, however. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia is attending with Al Lipphardt, commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), from Stone Mountain.
Political strategists lay out how Trump should kick off his 4-year term
President Donald Trump will make the first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. His first six weeks were dominated by ongoing executive actions, redefining international relations and government efficiency efforts. Political strategists shared with Fox News Digital what to expect from Trump’s big speech. Republican strategists say Trump should tell the story of his first six weeks, drawing contrast with former President Joe Biden’s administration. Meanwhile, Democrats are focused on what they say is Trump’s failure to lower prices. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is tasked with the party’s rebuttal. “Trump is going to contrast himself with the previous administration. The previous administration was weak and directionless. No one knew who was in charge. No one really understood what the Biden administration stood for. There couldn’t be a more dramatic change from Biden to Trump,” political columnist Kristin Tate said. Republicans say Trump should highlight the themes of his first six weeks and explain how his executive actions reflect his greater vision for the country. HOW TO WATCH AND WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S TUESDAY ADDRESS TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS “He needs to tell a story. He needs to weave in all the things he’s done, all this progress over the last month into a story and a theme and tell it,” Republican strategist Matt Gorman said. “He did it really well during his inauguration. It’s a status update. I think it’s really important that he weaves all of these actions and all the things he’s done into one big story about what it means for us as Americans but also what it means for his vision for the next three and four years.” FOUNDER OF CATHOLIC MINISTRY WORD ON FIRE TO ATTEND TRUMP ADDRESS TO CONGRESS Republican strategists told Fox News Digital that Trump should tell Americans how he has already delivered on key campaign promises, including slowing illegal border crossings, reversing Biden’s green energy policies, his “de-weaponization” of the Justice Department and his work to eliminate DEI. “I expect, and he will, take a victory lap on some of those items because it represents promises made, promises kept. But then he needs to cast the forward-facing vision: Where do we go from here? What are the big-ticket legislative items? How do we get past this legislative debate over one big bill or two separate initiatives and focus on what those bills contain, because time is fleeting,” said Republican strategist Colin Reed. Reed said Trump should focus on “the legislative priorities and go beyond just the executive orders.” And as leaders grapple with the fallout of Trump’s heated meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Reed said Trump could reset the narrative on Tuesday night. “For everything that’s happened over the last few days on foreign policy, I think it’s an opportunity for him to reset the narrative on what he wants to do domestically,” Reed said. “The events of Friday are going to obviously cast a shadow over tomorrow. But look, President Trump is in many ways dealing with the leftover mess [of] his predecessor on the global front. In his mind, the issues he’s facing, the challenges that happened in Ukraine would not have happened on his watch. He still has the residue of the Biden administration to deal with. That’s going to be an overarching narrative for the foreseeable future,” Reed added. TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TUESDAY NIGHT ON FOX NEWS To contrast Trump’s speech, the Democratic National Committee argues that Trump is failing to deliver on his campaign promise to lower costs and boost the economy. DNC Chair Ken Martin has been traveling the country leading up to Tuesday night, telling Americans about the chaos Trump and Elon Musk are creating throughout the U.S. During Trump’s fifth address to a joint session of Congress, Democrats and Republicans agreed that he is unlikely to invite new Americans into the fold. “He’s president for everyone, but I don’t expect Democrats to suddenly have a change of heart. They’re trying to figure out less what they think about Trump and more what they’re going to do about him. And they don’t have an answer for the latter at all. They’re very much in an era of confusion right now in their party, trying to figure out what they stand for and how they’re going to adjust to actually get a majority of voters, again, just to support them,” Gorman added. Brad Bannon, president of Bannon Communications Research, said Trump has done very little in his first few weeks to appeal to anyone beyond his “base MAGA vote.” “I don’t see any sign that he’s trying to appeal to anybody who didn’t vote for him last year,” Bannon said. “He has control of Congress, a compliant Supreme Court. It seems to me everything he’s done … has been to appeal to the people who already support him, and he’s not making any effort to reach out. I would be very surprised if he does Tuesday night.” Tate, however, urged Trump to extend an olive branch to moderate Democrats during his speech. “I even believe that he is going to reach out across the aisle and throw some compliments to some of the more moderate Democrats. He really needs to do this. Sen. [John] Fetterman from Pennsylvania would be a great first choice to highlight as a Democrat who is not blinded by hateful partisanship but is rather looking to find common ground to help everyday Americans,” she said. “Trump has a lot to be proud of, and rest assured he will shine a light on all of those grand achievements which have taken place in such a short period of time, and he is going to paint a grand vision for the future of America, including not just what America represents, but what it can be at its finest,” Tate continued. Trump has the headlining speech Tuesday night, but Democrats also have an opportunity
Trump report card: Conservative and liberal analysts reveal their grades for president on top issues
Fox News Digital spoke to two political analysts on where President Trump stands grade wise with the American public on some of the top issues heading into his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of the Daily Signal, and Julian Epstein, longtime Democratic operative, attorney, and former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, gave Trump grades of A-F on some of the top issues he is expected to touch on in his speech. Immigration: BLUEY: A “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan are among the most visible members of the Trump administration,” Bluey told Fox News Digital. FOUNDER OF CATHOLIC MINISTRY WORD ON FIRE TO ATTEND TRUMP ADDRESS TO CONGRESS “Their work is paying off. Customs and Border Protection is encountering a record-low number of illegal aliens at the southern border. Thanks to combination of increased enforcement and the threat of deportation, President Trump is delivering on his promise to end illegal immigration. He’ll need more resources from Congress to finish the job and finally secure the border.” EPSTEIN: A “Promises made, promises kept, the public is strongly behind him on this, and Democracies don’t survive too long under the Biden open borders approach,” Epstein said. Foreign Policy: BLUEY: B “President Trump promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours. That’s proving to be more difficult, mostly because of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unrealistic demands,” Bluey said. “After Friday’s blowup in the Oval Office, it’s unclear when peace talks will resume. In the Middle East, Trump is hoping to replicate the success of the Abraham Accords negotiated during his first term. Trump set the tone with his ultimatum for Hamas to release hostages, although there are approximately 59 still in captivity. With the first phase of the ceasefire coming to an end, it’ll take more U.S. diplomacy to get a deal done.” EPSTEIN: B “The Zelenskyy Presser meltdown didn’t make anyone look good on the global stage, Epstein said. “Rule #1: get your act together before you go public. And where are our hostages in Gaza? On the other hand, Trump is playing three-dimensional chess in each theater, where Biden was playing checkers and never made much meaningful progress.” Culture wars (DEI, trans issue): Bluey: A+ “Using his executive powers, President Trump ordered an end to DEI throughout the federal government—and exposed its deep roots across the bureaucracy,” Bluey told Fox News Digital. “By eliminating DEI jobs, he’s ensuring that taxpayers no longer subsidize this Marxist idea. He also signed an executive order banning men from women’s sports, an iconic moment with young athletes cheering him on. His confrontation with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the issue shows he’s serious about enforcing it.” Epstein: A “The American people never wanted the cultural revolution that the far left was trying to impose on race and gender, the president will have a super majority of public support on this,” Epstein said. TRUMP SET TO CONTINUE UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF ACTIONS, ADDRESS CONGRESS IN 7TH WEEK BACK IN OFFICE DOGE: Bluey: A “Elon Musk and the DOGE team are on the hunt to save taxpayers $1 trillion, which would cut the budget deficit in half,” Bluey told Fox News Digital. “They’ve already found $65 billion and showcased the results on a public website. But that represents just 6.5% of Musk’s goal, revealing what a daunting task it will be. Fortunately, there’s finally someone in Washington with the guts to cut spending and bring accountability to federal agencies. Musk shows no signs of slowing down, buoyed by recent polls showing support for spending reductions.” Epstein: B+ “Trump, must, will have public support to rid the bureaucracy of all its flab, self dealing and cultural revolutionary ideology,” Epstein said. “But they’re acting like they are in a breathless race against father time on this, when in fact they have time to make sure they don’t cut off important things like cancer research.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Economy: Bluey: B “President Trump acknowledged that inflation will be hard to tame, placing the blame on his predecessor,” Bluey explained. “It’s true that the Biden administration’s spending spree got us into this mess. And it doesn’t help that Trump is also facing a bird flu outbreak causing a spike in egg prices. Voters, however, expect Trump to deliver on his promise to help with the cost of living. His efforts to reduce regulatory burdens and provide tax relief are important steps. He’ll need to keep a watchful eye on Americans’ views of their personal finances to measure his success.” Epstein: B “Biden made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of dumb things, probably the dumbest was back shelving inflation,” Epstein said. “For all of the whirlwind, we’ve seen very little in the way of Trump tackling inflation in the first month. This has to change.” TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TUESDAY NIGHT ON FOX NEWS Trump will address Congress on Tuesday night in a speech expected to tout his accomplishments to date while previewing his agenda in the months and years ahead.