Weekend roundup: Trump up in ratings; Dangerous illegals deported; Ukraine-Russia peace talks and more

It was a busy weekend for news, especially from the Trump administration. Here are the top stories: 

Trump rocks ratings over Democrats

A poll that’s causing seismic tremors in Washington, D.C., shows more Americans believe the country is on the right track than at any time since 2004, reports Axios.  

At the same time, the Democratic Party has reached an all-time low in polling data stretching back to 1990. 

The poll from NBC News, which was conducted March 7-11, mirrors other surveys.  

A CNN poll conducted March 6-9 shows that Democrats enjoy a favorability rating of just 29%, said The Hill. While the Democrats’ approval rating is not much lower than the GOP’s 36% favorability, Trump is up big on both the liberals and the GOP. 

Axios has Trump’s approval at 53%. 

It’s been a slow turnaround since Trump first became president in 2016.  

In his first term, weighed down by relentless attacks from Democrats and D.C. insiders, Trump generally polled under 40%.  

Democrats have been slow to respond to Trump’s aggressive policy efforts this time around, and the liberal party has failed to distance itself from positions that are unpopular with the public. 

US defies judge, deports criminals to El Salvador 

The Trump administration flexed its muscles continuing the deportation of hundreds of illegal alien criminals to a harsh prison in El Salvador, despite a federal judge’s sudden restraining order. 

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order blocking the government from deporting any criminal, illegal immigrants under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, reported the New York Times.  

But Trump’s press secretary said that a federal judge doesn’t control the movement of U.S. military ships and planes or control the foreign policy of the United States.  

“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, blasting the judge. 

“Moreover, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear – federal courts generally have no jurisdiction over the President’s conduct of foreign affairs, his authorities under the Alien Enemies Act, and his core Article II powers to remove foreign alien terrorists from U.S. soil and repel a declared invasion,” Leavitt added. 

The administration invoked a little used law called the Alien Enemies Act, that allows deportation as a matter of national security whenever the president believes any “invasion or predatory incursion” of the U.S. has been attempted. 

A group of the now-deported illegal immigrants, who are allegedly members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, sued the government over the deportations with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union. 

Still, even as the judge sided with the gang members, over 250 alleged members of Central and South American gangs in the U.S. illegally, including the litigants who sued over the deportations, were transferred by Trump’s authority to the custody of El Salvador, which will stash them in the country’s harsh Terrorism Confinement Center, reported ABC News.  

Trump signed an order in January designating Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization.  

“With each criminal illegal alien being deported, neighborhoods are becoming safer,” said Border Czar Thomas Homan. “Criminal illegal aliens, gang members and national security threats can try to hide with the help of sanctuary cities, however, know this, ICE will not stop until they are found and deported.” 

Trump, Putin to talk ceasefire

An optimistic Trump said that he will be speaking with Russian president Vladimir Putin about a cease-fire in Ukraine, following talks in Moscow between U.S. and Russian officials.  

Trump’s comments came during a flight back to Washington from his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.  

“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, reported Reuters. “Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance” to get a cease fire.  

Trump said he’ll be talking to Putin on Tuesday. 

Politico Europe reports that Trump told reporters that discussions will include terms of a peace treaty, including dividing the land and assets, such as power plants between Russia and Ukraine. 

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been the point person on the talks in Russia, said that the Russian president appears to agree with Trump’s framework for peace. 

“President Trump wants to see an end to this. I think President Putin wants to see an end to this,” Witkoff said. 

Rubio promises more Hamas supporters will be deported 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned of more quick, forcible illegal immigration deportations from Trump based on the Alien Enemies Act. 

Appearing on Face the Nation, Rubio said deportations like the one that happened to Mahmoud Khalil, who is a former Columbia University graduate student recently deported, will be ramped up. 

Khalil acted as a spokesperson and chief negotiator for a group of students who illegally occupied and vandalized Columbia University last spring in pro-Hamas protests. 

The demonstrators were ultimately ousted by police.  

“Negotiating on behalf of people that took over a campus, that vandalized buildings,” Rubio said. “That’s a crime in and of itself, that they’re involved in being a negotiator, the spokesperson.” 

Rubio said the process to get permission to enter the United States is straightforward and unambiguous towards acts that are illegal.  

“And if you tell us, when you apply for a visa, ‘I’m coming to the U.S. to participate in pro-Hamas events,’ that runs counter to the foreign policy interest of the United States of America,” Rubio said. “If you had told us that you were going to do that, we never would have given you the visa.” 

The Trump administration also deported Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Brown University professor, after she tried to re-enter the U.S. on an HB-1 visa yesterday.   

A court tried to block the deportation, according to local Boston TV news.  

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security deported the Lebanese citizen without giving a reason, but hinted it was a matter of national security. 

“Arriving aliens bear the burden of establishing admissibility to the United States. Our Officers adhere to strict protocols to identify and stop threats, using rigorous screening, vetting, strong law enforcement partnerships, and keen inspectional skills to keep threats out of the country,” said Hilton Beckham, assistant commissioner of public affairs for the U.S. Custom and Border Protection. 

Trump dismantles US-funded foreign media 

The Trump administration shut down several government-funded media outlets directed at foreign audiences, saying they could not be salvaged due to bias.  

Voice of America, Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia all got the axe, reported Reuters.  

“Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now,” a senior White House official told Fox News Digital. 

Kari Lake, who acts as Trump’s senior advisor for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the parent organization for the now-disbanded media companies, said that audits have found “massive national security violations, including spies and terrorist sympathizers and/or supporters infiltrating the agency; eye-popping self-dealing involving contracts, grants and high-value settlement agreements;” and hundreds of millions spent on producing “fake news.”  

“This agency is not salvageable,” Lake added. “From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer – a national security risk for this nation – and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule.” 

It’s unclear if the Trump administration will fund some sort of an alternative to the programming to provide foreign audiences with an American point of view.