NEWS AND OPINION:
SportsHandle.com — an online news site covering the legal U.S. sports wagering industry — has some news of interest to a certain former president.
“New data from SportsHandle shows Donald Trump’s odds to win the 2024 presidential election continue to climb as President Joe Biden’s popularity decreases. Our data also shows that Sen. Tim Scott has reclaimed his spot as No. 1 contender to be Trump’s running mate,” the news site said in a report released Wednesday.
“Our 2024 U.S. election trackers show the chances of each candidate to become the next president of the United States, based on a compilation of dozens of odds across various sources tracked since August of 2022,” the report said.
“As of May 28, 2024: Trump odds continue to climb, Biden popularity tumbles: Donald Trump’s legal battles seem to be having no effect on his chances of winning this year’s election. After reaching a new record high last week, his odds have improved yet again. Trump now has a 57.2% chance of winning the presidential election this year. President Biden’s chances continue to decline, currently sitting at 40.9%, nearly 7% lower than a month ago,” the report noted.
A certain South Carolina Republican also rated in the vice presidential bout.
“Sen. Tim Scott retakes VP frontrunner status. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum briefly took over the number one spot in our VP odds, but Tim Scott has reemerged as the favorite. Sen. Scott currently has a 19.8% chance to be Trump’s pick. This must come as a relief for the former presidential candidate, whose numbers had been slipping over the last month,” the report said.
“No female running mate for Trump?: Despite early rumors that the former president was interested in having a woman on the ticket with him this year, the odds don’t bear that out. The four candidates with the highest chances of joining the ticket are all men. Former U.S. representative Tulsi Gabbard has the highest odds of any woman at 9.2%, which places her as the fifth most likely option,” it said.
TRIAL BY HEADLINE
The “hush money” trial of former President Donald Trump is winding down, while public and press interest is escalating. Here are just a few of the many headlines from the last 24 hours:
“How might Trump’s campaign be affected if he’s acquitted in his hush money trial?” (ABC News); “Donald Trump’s hush-money trial is a referendum on truth” (Time); “Fireworks during Trump trial’s closing arguments” (The Economist); “Here’s what we know about the 12 jurors in Trump’s hush money trial” (Forbes); “Trump trial jury must now decide if prosecutors left any room for doubt in ‘mountain’ of evidence” (NBC News); “Trump trial verdict: If guilty, what would ex-president’s punishment be?” (The Guardian); “What happens if Trump is convicted in New York? No one can really say” (CBS News); “Jury begins deliberations in Trump criminal hush money trial” (Reuters); and “Judgment day looms for Donald Trump in New York” (CNN).
FOXIFIED
Fox News finished out May as the leading cable news network, marking 40 months as the No. 1 cable news network in primetime and 39 months as the most watched cable news network during the day.
And the audience numbers for the month: Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers during daytime hours, compared to MSNBC with 816,000 and CNN with 468,000. During primetime, Fox News averaged 2 million viewers compared to MSNBC with 1.2 million and CNN with 518,000.
Fox News aired 94 of the top 100 shows during the month and claimed the top-five cable news shows: “The Five” (3.1 million viewers), “Jesse Watters Primetime” (2.7 million), “Hannity” (2.3 million), “Gutfeld!” (2.2 million) and “The Ingraham Angle” (also 2.2 million).
Late-night host Greg Gutfeld also outpaced CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “After Midnight,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Mr. Gutfeld also enjoyed his largest audience ever on May 20, when 2.9 million viewers tuned in.
IVY-COVERED HALLS
The American Enterprise Institute reveals that all may not be as it seems in the scholarly world. Here’s some research with a telling title: “Do the Rhodes and Truman Scholarships Have Any Room for the Right?”
Apparently not.
“The taxpayer-funded Truman Scholarship and the private Rhodes Scholarship work closely with public colleges and universities to cultivate future civic leaders. While this role suggests these programs should include scholars who reflect a breadth of views, values, and interests, their participants instead display a stark ideological tilt,” wrote Frederick M. Hess, a senior fellow and director of education policy studies, and research assistant Joe Pitts.
“Over the past five years, just one of 157 American Rhodes Scholars expressed interest in a right-leaning issue in their program biography. Over the past three years, just six of 182 Truman Scholars did so. Moreover, the nature of their interest suggests that even these seven scholars aren’t especially conservative,” the co-authors said.
“Among Truman and American Rhodes Scholars, interest in prominent progressive issues dwarfs that in conservative ones — by a factor of 20 to one. While 98 scholars cited an interest in immigrant rights or diversity, equity, and inclusion and racial justice, just four mentioned an interest in religious freedom or pro-life advocacy,” they continued.
“Given taxpayer funding for the Truman Scholarship and the participation of public institutions in both programs, public officials should take appropriate steps to ensure that public participation or support is contingent on these programs taking their pledge to cultivate a diverse community of scholars and future leaders seriously,” Mr. Hess and Mr. Pitts said.
The analysis was published in Forbes, and also at the American Enterprise Institute website, found at AEI.org.
POLL DU JOUR
• 23% of U.S. adults would describe the political viewpoint of the U.S. Supreme Court as “very conservative.”
• 21% would describe the view as “conservative.”
• 26% would describe the viewpoint as “moderate.”
• 6% would describe the viewpoint as “liberal.”
• 4% would describe the view as “very liberal.”
• 20% are “not sure” what political viewpoint is within the court.
SOURCE: A Economist/YouGov poll of 1,746 U.S. adults conducted online May 25-28.
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• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.