President Trump frequently touts the high TV ratings for his daily coronavirus press briefings, citing a two-week-old New York Times report, but viewership isn't translating into perceived leadership, according to a flurry of polls released Wednesday. Despite an early, modest jump in approval ratings, "Trump isn't benefiting from what political scientists refer to as a 'rally 'round the flag' effect — a traditional surge in popularity as the nation unites behind its leader during an emergency situation," Politico reports.

In six separate polls released Wednesday, Trump's approval rating ranged from 40 percent to 45 percent, and "increasing percentages say they think Trump is doing a bad job, and his administration hasn't done enough to protect citizens from the effects of COVID-19," Politico says. Trump's average approval rating, as aggregated by RealClearPolitics, went from 44.5 percent on March 8 to 47.4 percent last week and 45.2 percent on Wednesday afternoon.

"We saw something," Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, told Politico. "There was a slight bump for him," but "the fact that there wasn't a huge rally effect given the severity and the breadth of this crisis is really what's unusual here," he added. "And it says a lot about Trump's unwillingness or inability to capitalize on a moment like this."

Maybe it's a coincidence, but the daily coronavirus briefings "have grown longer since they started, and Mr. Trump's share of the time at the lectern has as well," from 20 minutes per session in mid-March to 53 minutes currently, Peter Baker notes at The New York Times. When he speaks, "the president has routinely contradicted himself without ever acknowledging that he does so," sending "confusing signals that other politicians, public health officials, and the rest of the country are left to sort out."

Monmouth's poll Wednesday had Trump's approval rating at 44 percent, down 2 percentage points from last month, and his handling of the virus was 46 percent favorable, 49 percent unfavorable, a reverse from last month's 50 percent favorable, 45 percent unfavorable numbers. CNN/SSRS and Quinnipiac polls Wednesday had narrow majorities disapproving of Trump coronavirus response. Read more at Politico. Peter Weber

Mike Mullen, the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a retired Navy admiral, says he was so "sickened" by what he saw transpire on the streets of Washington, D.C., on Monday evening that he had to speak out.

"Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so," Mullen wrote in The Atlantic. "This is not the time for stunts. This is the time for leadership."

Watching security personnel "forcibly and violently" clear out peaceful protesters so President Trump could stand outside of St. John's Church left Mullen aghast, he wrote. Whatever Trump's goal was, "he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces. There was little good in the stunt."

No one should condone violence, vandalism, or looting, Mullen wrote, but it's imperative that people also don't "lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns over institutional racism that have ignited this rage." Citizens must unite to "address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community," he said, as well as "support and defend the right — indeed, the solemn obligation — to peacefully assemble and to be heard."

While Mullen said he's "confident in the professionalism of our men and women in uniform," knowing they "will obey lawful orders," he is "less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops."

Mullen was not the only former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to condemn Monday's incident. His successor, retired Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, tweeted that "America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy." Catherine Garcia

Statues and monuments in honor of Confederate soldiers and leaders are coming down in Alabama and Virginia, with some covered in graffiti spray painted by protesters against racism and police brutality.

In Birmingham, a 115-year-old obelisk dedicated to Confederate soldiers and sailors was removed early Tuesday, one day after demonstrators tried to pull it down themselves. The monument stood in a park just a few blocks away from the 16th Street Baptist Church, which was bombed in 1963 by white supremacists. Four young black girls died in the bombing, including Sarah Collins Rudolph's sister, Addie Mae Collins.

Rudolph, who was seriously injured in the attack, went to the former site of the obelisk on Tuesday, and said she couldn't believe it was finally gone. It was "a hate monument," she told The Associated Press. "It didn't represent the blacks. It just represented the hard times back there a long time ago."

Following the 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, when a white supremacist targeted black worshipers, there was a call to remove Confederate statues across the South. Alabama instead passed a state law in 2017 to protect those monuments, and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) filed a lawsuit against Birmingham on Tuesday over the removal of the obelisk. The state plans on fining the city $25,000 for violating the law, which is fine by Mayor Randall Woodfin, who said it's worth it for peace in his town, AP reports.

While some monuments have come down due to vandalism, other organizations said they are removing their statues and flags by choice. On Tuesday, the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Alexandria, Virginia, took down a statue of a Confederate soldier titled "Appomattox." It was first erected in 1889, and one year later, a law was passed to prevent officials from removing it; the law was repealed this year. Near Tampa, Florida, a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter lowered its giant Confederate battle flag, which had been visible from two highways. Catherine Garcia

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked a resolution that would have condemned President Trump's actions against peaceful protesters who gathered near the White House on Monday evening.

Officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd at Lafayette Square so Trump could walk over and take photos in front of St. John's Church while holding a Bible. The resolution, introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), also affirmed the constitutional rights of Americans to peacefully assemble and that violence and looting are unlawful and contrary to the purpose of peaceful protests.

McConnell said Americans want to see "justice for black Americans in the face of unjust violence, and peace for our country in the face of looting, riots, and domestic terror," and the resolution "does not address" these issues. "Instead, it just indulges in the myopic obsession with President Trump that has come to define the Democratic side of the aisle," he added.

In response, Schumer said McConnell and Republicans "do not want to condemn what the president did, though every fair minded American of any political party would. We certainly should condemn violence — let me repeat, this resolution condemns violence — but it is insufficient in light of what happened just to condemn violence, and not condemn what the president did as well." Catherine Garcia

Former President George W. Bush on Tuesday said it's time for America to "examine our tragic failures" in order to end systemic racism.

In a statement, Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush are "anguished" by the "brutal suffocation of George Floyd" and "resisted the urge to speak" in the wake of Floyd's death and the ensuing protests because "this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen."


It is a "shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country," Bush said, and it is a "strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future."

He called Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Martin Luther King Jr. "heroes of America," and said "their calling has never been for the fainthearted. They often revealed the nation's disturbing bigotry and exploitation — stains on our character sometimes difficult for the American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America's need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised."

To have "lasting peace in our communities" there must be "truly equal justice" for everyone, Bush said, and achieving that is "the duty of all." Read his entire statement here. Catherine Garcia

Six Atlanta police officers are facing charges after being accused of using excessive force during the arrest of two college students Saturday night, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced on Tuesday.

Howard said arrest warrants have been issued for the six officers, with the charges including aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, and simple battery.

The incident took place after a George Floyd protest in downtown Atlanta. Body cam footage shows officers approaching a vehicle, with one using a baton to hit the driver's side window before breaking it and tasing the driver. A second officer tased the passenger. Later, one of the officers said he used the taser because it wasn't clear if the driver and passenger were armed.

After reviewing the footage, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Sunday ordered the firing of two of the officers. Catherine Garcia

Less than 24 hours after Lea Michele was accused of making a Glee co-star's life "a living hell," she's already lost a partnership.

Samantha Ware, who played Jane Hayward on Glee, in a tweet on Monday night publicly called out Michele, claiming the actress made her first television job "a living hell" with "traumatic" microaggressions and even told people that "if you had the opportunity you would 's--t in my wig." Other black Glee actors soon backed her up, with Dabier Snell alleging Michele wouldn't let him sit with other cast members because she said he "didn't belong there."

Amid the controversy, HelloFresh announced on Twitter it would sever a partnership with Michele.

"HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind," the company said. "We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele. We take this very seriously, and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately."

Michele has yet to respond to her co-stars' allegations. Brendan Morrow