Poll: Majority says Trump not 'fit to serve as president'

 Mod - No president has ever gotten numbers like these. They pretty much indicate that most Americans would not be terribly upset if Trump were to be removed from office. 

Poll: Majority says Trump not 'fit to serve as president' (The Hilllink): A majority of Americans, including most independent voters, say President Trump is unfit for office, according to a new poll. Survey results released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University show that just over half of American voters say that Trump is "not fit" for the office of the presidency. That number includes 57 percent of independents and 94 percent of Democrats.

A wide majority of Republicans surveyed, 84 percent, said that Trump is fit for office. Responses were divided evenly among men, 49 percent to 49 percent, while 63 percent of women said Trump is unfit for the presidency. A small percentage of people declined to answer or said they were undecided.

The divisions over Trump's job performance on race relations are stark in the poll. Ninety-four percent of African-Americans surveyed disapproved of Trump's handling of race relations as president, compared to 66 percent of Hispanics who said the same. White voters disapprove by a slimmer margin, with 55 percent disapproval compared to 39 percent approval.

Highlights from the poll

American voter opinions of most Trump qualities remain low:

59 - 37 percent that he is not honest;
60 - 38 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
56 - 42 percent that he does not care about average Americans;
67 - 30 percent that he is not level headed;
61 - 37 percent that he is a strong person;
55 - 42 percent that he is intelligent;
61 - 36 percent that he does not share their values.

American voters disapprove 78 - 15 percent of the job Republicans in Congress are doing, worse than their 70 - 25 percent disapproval in a June 29 Quinnipiac University poll. Even Republican voters disapprove 61 - 32 percent. Voters disapprove 63 - 29 percent of the job Democrats in Congress are doing, virtually unchanged from June.

Voters say 47 - 38 percent, including 44 - 32 percent among independent voters, that they would like to see Democrats win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 Congressional elections.

Voters also say 49 - 40 percent, including 47 - 34 percent among independent voters, they would like to see Democrats win control of the U.S. Senate next year.

By a narrow 48 - 44 percent voters approve of Trump's handling of the economy. He gets mostly negative approval ratings for handling other key issues:

38 - 57 percent for handling foreign policy;
38 - 59 percent for immigration;
34 - 59 percent for the environment;
34 - 60 percent for health care;
47 percent approve of his handling of terrorism and 45 percent disapprove.

Mod: Here's a question for the Trumpers. Did you ever think he would actually RAISE your taxes? That is what is going to happen if Trump and the GOP get their way.

Here's why Trump's tax plan will hit Californians especially hard (Los Angeles Timeslink): Many Californians face a big financial hit under the Republican tax plan, which would eliminate a major tax break that benefits state residents more than those anywhere else in the U.S.

The federal deduction for state and local taxes allowed Californians to reduce their taxable income by $101 billion in 2014, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The tax outline released Wednesday by President Trump and top congressional Republicans would ax the break, which largely benefits residents in states that are Democratic strongholds.

“Republicans in Washington have once again zeroed in on California to punish us and make our state the single biggest loser in their reckless tax scheme,” said Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles).

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the elimination of the deduction was one reason the plan was a “non-starter” for her. “I don’t believe California should suffer in order for President Trump to give tax cuts to the rich,” she said.

The plan also left open the possibility of another big hit: new limits on the deduction for home mortgage interest, which would have a greater effect on states with higher housing costs, such as California and New York.

Homeowners now can deduct interest paid on as much as $1 million in mortgage debt. Some Republicans have been considering reducing the limit to $500,000. If that were to happen, about 489,000 filers in California would see an average increase of about $3,290 in their federal taxes, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Kushner registered in New York as a female voter (The Hilllink): Presidential son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is registered as a female voter in New York, according to public records. Registration records show that when Kushner, who is married to first daughter Ivanka Trump, registered to vote in 2009, he apparently checked a box classifying his gender as a female. Democratic opposition research group American Bridge first spotted the error, which Wired then reported first.

"Kushner can't even fill out the most basic paperwork without screwing it up, so it's a mystery why anyone thinks he's somehow going to bring peace to the Middle East,"Brad Bainum, a spokesperson for the group, told Wired about the mistake. "Would anyone but the president's son-in-law still have a West Wing job after repeated disclosure errors and a botched a security clearance form?"

Kushner, who has a vast portfolio of issues at the White House, has had to amend his federal security clearance forms multiple times to include meetings with foreign contacts.

He told congressional investigators that the mistakes have been due to a “miscommunication” with his assistant. Prior to 2009, his New Jersey voter registration noted his gender as “unknown.”

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