OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.

Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley is calling on all Republicans to work with President-elect Donald Trump and get his Cabinet in place.

During an interview on Fox News with host Jesse Watters, Hawley said that it is critical for the U.S. Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans in January, to allow Trump to assemble his Cabinet that “reflects his agenda.”

“I saw your colleague hold up a sign on the Senate floor with a big zero. Zero Democrats in the Senate voted against any of Biden’s cabinet nominees. Zero. And look what these nominees did in Biden’s cabinet. They wrecked the country, they blew open the border, they spent trillions of dollars. Zero Democrats are against them. Are Republicans comfortable voting against President Trump’s picks?” Watters asked.

“I sure hope not. I mean, listen, I think that the president deserves to have a cabinet that reflects his agenda, that’s going to implement his agenda. And you made this point just a second ago, Jesse. I think the thing that really the press and the establishment hates so much is how broad this coalition is. They can’t believe that people like RFK and Tulsi Gabbard are in this coalition and in this cabinet, and it just reflects the breadth of President Trump’s mandate, the breadth of President Trump’s coalition,” Hawley said.

“This isn’t your typical cabinet and that’s as it should be. It reflects the winning majority coalition Donald Trump put together,” he added.

Watters then asked: “So is the president-elect burning up the phones? Is he making threats? I know some people are threatening primaries against some of these Republican senators if they don’t vote yes.”

“I think the president is absolutely weighing in. That’s my sense as I visited with him, that he’s calling people and saying, ‘Listen, give these people a shot.’ Don’t go out there and say, ‘I’m against him, I’m against her, I will never vote yes.’ Don’t say this stuff. Let them speak. Hear their views. I mean, at least let them go through the process and testify and support Trump. I mean, stand by him as he assembles a cabinet that reflects his agenda and it reflects the mandate that he’s gotten from the American people,” Hawley said.

“Yeah, I mean, these guys are all going to make their own call. I get it. I understand the politics of it. But if they go down in flames, a couple of these guys, as Trump gets inaugurated, you’re going to have the Republican Senate injure the incoming president politically, do damage to him politically, hurt him as he had momentum, and he hasn’t even deregulated the government, hasn’t cut anything, hasn’t even had any legislation passed. They’re just going to kneecap him out of the gate?” Watters asked the Republican lawmaker.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what we cannot afford, Jesse. This is a coalition that is a majority coalition. Let’s not lose sight of the fact. And this is my message to all of my colleagues: Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is the leader of our party who just won a decisive victory in both the Electoral College and the popular vote. He deserves to have a cabinet that will implement his agenda and will deliver on the promises he made to the American people, and it’s the Senate’s job to help get him that cabinet. So let’s move forward here full steam ahead,” Hawley responded.

Watters concluded by saying: “Okay. Well, these are going to be some feisty hearings, and I think ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ will be here to cover it in a fair way, because that’s all you can ask.”

“I think the president is absolutely weighing in. That’s my sense as I visited with him, that he’s calling people and saying, ‘Listen, give these people a shot.’ Don’t go out there and say, ‘I’m against him, I’m against her, I will never vote yes.’ Don’t say this stuff. Let them speak. Hear their views. I mean, at least let them go through the process and testify and support Trump. I mean, stand by him as he assembles a cabinet that reflects his agenda and it reflects the mandate that he’s gotten from the American people,” Hawley said.

“Yeah, I mean, these guys are all going to make their own call. I get it. I understand the politics of it. But if they go down in flames, a couple of these guys, as Trump gets inaugurated, you’re going to have the Republican Senate injure the incoming president politically, do damage to him politically, hurt him as he had momentum, and he hasn’t even deregulated the government, hasn’t cut anything, hasn’t even had any legislation passed. They’re just going to kneecap him out of the gate?” Watters asked the Republican lawmaker.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what we cannot afford, Jesse. This is a coalition that is a majority coalition. Let’s not lose sight of the fact. And this is my message to all of my colleagues: Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is the leader of our party who just won a decisive victory in both the Electoral College and the popular vote. He deserves to have a cabinet that will implement his agenda and will deliver on the promises he made to the American people, and it’s the Senate’s job to help get him that cabinet. So let’s move forward here full steam ahead,” Hawley responded.

Watters concluded by saying: “Okay. Well, these are going to be some feisty hearings, and I think ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ will be here to cover it in a fair way, because that’s all you can ask.”

OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.

Election pollster and analyst Nate Silver argued there’s no “particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now” and called for him to resign on Wednesday.

Silver made his remarks after the Washington Post reported that Biden had avoided the press during his trip to Brazil this week for the G20 summit.

“President Joe Biden was in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, unprotected from mosquitoes, fire ants and loud, squawking macaws. But there was another pest he did manage to avoid: the pack of reporters traveling with him,” the Post reported.

“During a six-day foreign trip to Peru and Brazil that wrapped up Monday, the president rarely spoke in public, answering almost no questions despite repeated efforts to engage him. One television producer took to writing messages on a large pad of paper, holding it up as Biden boarded and departed Air Force One,” The Post continued.

Silver commented that the details of the post report were further proof that Biden wasn’t able to lead the country anymore despite having roughly just two months left in office.

Footage from Brazil. Biden, having finished his speech, simply turned around and went into the rainforest 🍌 pic.twitter.com/SdDPAl6CNL

— Katie Liane (@TheKaterPotater) November 18, 2024

“Is there any particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now? It’s a very difficult job. It’s a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve out the last 2 months,” Silver wrote on X Wednesday.

Is there any particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now? It's a very difficult job. It's a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve out the last 2 months.https://t.co/02huFqQT3W pic.twitter.com/ZLWqcbkAYW

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 20, 2024

Before the election, Silver often suggested the possibility of Biden being replaced by another candidate. In July, he even called for Biden to resign following his poorly received interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC.

“I wimped out in today’s column and deleted a line saying he should formulate a plan to transition the presidency to Harris within 30-60 days, but I’m there now,” Silver said at the time. “Something is clearly wrong here.”

“The most generous way to put it is that he doesn’t seem in command, and that’s an extremely hard sell when you’re Commander in Chief,” Silver concluded — adding that he believes “Democrats will apply incredible amounts of pressure” to make the president resign.

That turned out to be the case. Led by the likes of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and — reports said — former President Barack Obama, Biden eventually agreed to end his reelection campaign, which also followed a disastrous debate with then-former President Donald Trump in June.

Biden, however, quickly endorsed his vice president, essentially leaving the Democratic Party with little choice but to rally behind who many privately believed was one of their worst choices.

“…Biden just hit a new all-time low in approval (37.4%) at 538 yesterday. Dropping out would be a big risk. But there’s some threshold below which continuing to run is a bigger risk. Are we there yet? I don’t know. But it’s more than fair to ask,” Silver wrote over the summer. “What’s clearer IMO is that Democrats would have been better served if Biden had decided a year ago not to seek a second term, which would have allowed them to have some semblance of a primary process and give voters a say among the many popular Democrats across the country.”

Republicans have frequently countered that Biden’s mental status decline was evidence during his 2020 presidential bid and that it had been getting steadily worse ever since. They have also accused Democrat insiders as well as those in the legacy media, of covering for Biden as he continued to decline.

OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.

A sizeable majority of registered voters approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s performance as he prepares for his second term in the White House, according to a new poll.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 54% of respondents approve of Trump’s leadership, while 40% disapprove. The high approval rating is driven by strong support from 91% of Republicans, along with 49% of independents and 22% of Democrats who also expressed approval, The Hill reported this week.

The poll comes as President-elect Donald Trump transitions into office, set to be sworn in on January 20. He has announced several high-profile Cabinet nominations, including Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for Secretary of State and Representative Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for United Nations Ambassador. More controversial picks include former Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for Attorney General and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.

The poll revealed that at least a plurality of respondents approve of Trump’s performance across most age groups, with a majority among those aged 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, and 45 to 54. Among those aged 55 to 64, more approve than disapprove, while a slight majority of respondents aged 65 and older expressed disapproval, the outlet added, citing the results.

Trump’s 54% approval rating as president-elect is 12 points higher than the 42% approval for President Biden, according to the same poll. Biden’s rating has remained consistent in recent months, and for some months before he dropped his reelection bid in July, his approval rating dipped into the upper 30s. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, consistently polled even lower than Biden.

During his presidency, Trump’s approval rating in Gallup surveys never reached 50%, peaking at 49% on a few occasions. Pollster Mark Penn emphasized the importance of this latest poll for Trump’s ability to govern effectively in his second term.

“It’s a good start. He is above 50 in job approval so far — it will be important for him to stay above that level to govern effectively,” Penn told The Hill.

Approval of the Republican Party saw a slight increase, rising from 46% last month to 49% this month, while approval for the Democratic Party declined from 47% to 44%. Meanwhile, just over a quarter of voters (26%) believe the country is on the right track, marking a 4-point drop from October.

With just 62 days remaining in office, Biden already appears to be winding down his term.

On Monday, the commander-in-chief was notably absent from the traditional group photo at the final Group of 20 (G20) summit of his presidency. Officials attributed the no-show to a timing issue, though it marked a striking omission from the global gathering that took place in Brazil.

The 81-year-old President and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived after the official group photo had already been taken. According to the Associated Press, other world leaders were seen mingling and chatting after posing for the picture, having smiled and exchanged warm gestures during the photo session.

The timing left Chinese President Xi Jinping prominently positioned at the center of the group of leaders, posed against the blue skies and waters of Rio de Janeiro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, was less conspicuous, standing in the back row.

“A senior Biden administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said Biden and other leaders missed the photo because of ‘logistical issues,’” the AP noted, adding: “Biden had intended to be part of the photo, but it occurred earlier than scheduled.”

Just days earlier, Biden made headlines when he appeared to wander off alone into the Amazon rainforest after delivering a speech on climate change at the COP29 summit in Brazil, Breitbart News reported.

A video of Biden walking away from the podium quickly went viral after being shared on social media. It didn’t take long for Hollywood celebrities—once among his most vocal supporters—to join in ridiculing the seemingly aimless actions of the 81-year-old leader.

Footage from Brazil. Biden, having finished his speech, simply turned around and went into the rainforest 🍌 pic.twitter.com/SdDPAl6CNL

— Katie Liane (@TheKaterPotater) November 18, 2024