A SHAMELESS WHITE HOUSE ATTEMPTS TO PROVE THAT EVERYTHING IS FINE

How do you know the White House is worried about defections from the Trump voter base? You know because stories like the two I'm about to quote are showing up in the press.

First, there's this from the New York Post:

Reports of Republican fractures over President Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran have been greatly exaggerated, according to a new poll shared exclusively with The Post Thursday.

The J.L. Partners survey showed that 83% of likely Republican voters “strongly” or “somewhat” support Operation Epic Fury, while just 9% say they “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose military action against Iran.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents say the US should continue its campaign until Iran’s military capabilities are destroyed, with 16% saying Trump should stop the war immediately.

Compared to prominent podcasters Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, both of whom have criticized the president over the Iran war, the poll found 83% of likely Republican voters trust Trump’s judgement, while just 6% place more confidence in the former Fox News hosts.

J.L. Partners is a British firm founded by two Tories. It polls Americans for the Daily Mail, where its surveys have, until recently, been more favorable to President Trump than most polls. Nate Silver, who gives J.L. Partners a B/C rating, adds four points to Trump's "disapprove" numbers to adjust for J.L.'s bias.

Nevertheless, I suspect that this poll largely reflects reality. Other pollsters, such as Quinnipiac, find that Republican voters are overwhelmingly on Trump's side -- though you'd think the numbers would be closer to 100% support in the first couple of weeks of a war started by a president of their own party.

I'd be curious to see the wording of the poll's questions in order to determine whether they skewed the results, but we can't see the survey itself because it was released exclusively to the Post, which isn't revealing many specifics.

The White House is clearly trying to manufacture consent for Trump's war on the right, out of fear that some of the base is defecting, particularly young men. And this Axios story seems like another attempt to suggest that Trump's dude-friendly administration is still very popular:

D.C.'s hottest ticket: Trump's UFC fight night

President Trump tells Axios it's the "hottest ticket that I've ever seen."

He's talking about UFC Freedom 250, the fight Trump is staging on the White House's South Lawn on June 14.

Why it matters: Donors, lobbyists, members of Congress and well-connected fans are clamoring for tickets.

Well, of course donors, lobbyists, and members of Congress are clamoring for tickets. They still need to curry favor with Trump. But Trump wants America, or at least right-wing America, or at least right-wing male America, to believe he's still "the hottest thing."

Of course, we have no idea how true any of this is -- the story, more than most Axios stories, is pure spin, and reads like spin directly from the boss himself.

Top lobbyists and White House-connected operatives are getting inundated with requests, sources said. One of them told us they're sick of being asked about the fight.

Republicans began flooding the White House with inquiries about VIP tickets almost immediately after the event was announced last summer.

One senator asked to attend with their family.

(Only one? Whoops -- this seems like a botched talking point.)

A GOP fundraiser close to the White House received dozens of direct messages on social media asking how they could get in.

Trump himself has been fielding ticket requests, a person familiar with the event prep said.

Is the "person familiar with the event prep" named John Barron?

Trump wants us to assure us that his 2024 voters, young men in particular, aren't rushing to the exits -- or maybe his aides feel the need to assure him. But he can sell the war (and the self-soothing sausagefest on his birthday) as hard as he wants. The latecomers in his coalition aren't buying.