Some political victories emerge when there is a sudden confluence of positive factors that clear the way for the elected leader. Such is the case with President Trump and the complicated immigration matter. Though the hostile press and Democratic critics have vilified Mr. Trump for his broad-shouldered stance against open borders, those very same journalists and rivals appear to have given the president a handy, unintentional boost.

“Trump has already won the immigration debate. The Democrats abandoned the field to the president last week,” writes David Catron, a columnist for The American Spectator, referring to the first Democratic presidential debate just seven days ago.

That victory happened, Mr. Catron says, when the 20 Democratic hopefuls enthusiastically declared their support for free health care for undocumented immigrants — which costs more than $18.5 billion a year, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

The analyst also cited the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an interest group that calculated the total economic impact of illegal immigration on tax payers at $134.9 billion. Such numbers don’t play well with taxpayers.

“The Democrats remain in denial as to why they lost the 2016 election — Donald Trump’s primary campaign promise was to tackle illegal immigration. This failure to face reality suggests they will be trounced again in 2020. Immigration is the most important issue for a majority of voters, and the Democrats have abandoned the field to President Trump. It will cost them the election,” writes Mr. Catron.

PERTINENT HEADLINE OF NOTE

“U.S. economy marks longest expansion in American history.”

— From The New York Post on Tuesday, which notes that the economy has grown for 121 consecutive months.

SO MUCH FOR A BIDEN-HARRIS DREAM TICKET

What was considered an ideal presidential pairing is likely on the skids following the Democratic presidential debates, which was a showcase for some aggression against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden by Sen. Kamala D. Harris over racial matters.

“Harris’ decision to attack Biden so strongly has created a situation where voters are finally being forced to decide whether they truly like Biden as a candidate, or whether he simply became the ‘default choice,’ in their minds, to beat Donald Trump,” writes Nate Ashworth, editor-in-chief of Election Central, a news site.

“There has always been some talk of hitching up Biden with Harris as a ‘dream ticket.’ The goal of getting Biden’s name and experience coupled with a younger, female vice presidential nominee who’s popular in progressive circles seems like a good match on paper,” Mr. Ashworth continues.

“On the other hand, Harris was asked once whether she would accept a spot as Biden’s vice president in the event that he wins the nomination. In response, Harris shrewdly answered something along the lines of ‘maybe we should ask Biden if he would be my vice president.’”

EXPOSE ON ROGER AILES FLOPS

The unexpected passing of Fox News founder Roger Ailes in 2017 brought out a variety of hostile headlines from news organizations. The press attacked him even in death.

“Roger Ailes is dead, his scourge will live for decades,” a Washington Post media critic wrote at the time.

“Roger Ailes’ life work was making paranoid creeps look like virtuous men,” Slate noted.

Such negative portrayals appear to be continuing in a new Showtime biography miniseries, “The Loudest Voice,” about the late media kingpin and former adviser to President Richard M. Nixon. Not many viewers, however, were interested in such fare.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the series premiered Sunday to a total of 299,000 viewers. In the much-coveted 18- to 34-year-old and 18- to 49-year-old demographics, the series averaged only 8,000 and 26,000 viewers, respectively. That is far below for another cable premiere: Season 2 of HBO’s “Big Little Lies” on June 9 enjoyed an audience of 1.42 million.

In advance publicity, Showtime said the series would depict Ailes as the “de facto leader” of the Republican Party.

“The series also touches on defining events in Ailes’ life, including his experiences with world leaders that gave birth to his political career, and the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that brought his Fox News reign to an end,” the cable channel said.

“The Loudest Voice’s premiere comes after months of press about the expose on Ailes building Fox News into a right-wing mouthpiece and his years of abuse against women,” The Hollywood Reporter wrote.

“Despite an all-star cast including Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts and Seth MacFarlane, Showtime’s ‘The Loudest Voice’ premiered to unspectacular figures,” Variety said.

“As has proven to be the case with a number of their shows in the past, the premium cabler is clearly counting on ‘Loudest Voice’ having an extended life span and gaining traction through more encores, delayed viewing and online streaming. That may turn a whisper to a scream, as that Icicle Works song says — maybe,” wrote Deadline Hollywood analyst Dominic Patten.

FOXIFIED

Fox News Channel remains the most-watched network across the entire cable television realm, now marking three consecutive years at No. 1 in the competition with such non-news rivals as ESPN and HGTV, according to Nielsen Media Research. As it has done for 70 quarters — or 17 years, Fox News is still top dog in cable news, drawing 2.4 million prime-time viewers, compared to MSNBC with 1.7 million and CNN with 761,000.

Fox Business Network, meanwhile, has produced the top two programs in business television for the 12th consecutive quarter, according to Nielsen. The network is enjoying consistent increases in viewership, while CNBC recorded its lowest prime-time quarter since 2013.

POLL DU JOUR

• 73% of U.S. voters did not watch the first night of the Democratic presidential debate last week; 78% of Republicans, 80% of independents and 62% of Democrats agree.

• 50% say the debates are “very” or “somewhat” important when deciding on a candidate; 24% of Republicans, 42% of independents ad 73% of Democrats agree.

• 40% say the debates are “not very important” or “not important at all” when it comes to their decision; 69% of Republicans, 41% of independents ad 17% of Democrats agree.

• 17% are undecided; 7% of Republicans, 17% of independents and 5% of Democrats agree.

Source: A Politico/Morning Consult poll of 1,472 registered U.S. voters conducted June 29-July 1.

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