In honor of Older Americans Month Erie County Senior Services is sharing stories of older adults in our community.
At 101 years old, Colonel Jacob Cooper, originally from Ilion, NY, is a longtime resident of Erie County and a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force. During World War II, he served as a fighter pilot in the 493rd Squadron, flying an impressive 98 combat missions.
After the war, Cooper transitioned into the Air Force Reserves, but his dedication to service never waned. He attempted to return to active duty during the Korean War, but the conflict ended before he could take to the skies again. Over the course of 28 years in the Air Force, he demonstrated unwavering commitment and retired at the age of 45.
Throughout his life, Cooper remained deeply connected to his fellow servicemen, organizing squadron reunions every other year and remaining active in the American Legion. Today, he holds the distinct honor of being the last surviving member of the 493rd Squadron. We thank Lieutenant Cooper for his service to our country.
President Donald Trump has continued to lean into his use of the military to crack down on crime in Democrat-run cities — once a politically-strong issue for him — but new data reviewed by CNN Monday shows Americans’ are quickly souring on the moves.
Trump’s latest pledge to deploy federal troops to the city of Portland, Oregon comes after his federal takeover of Washington, D.C., which itself came after Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, California. New polling, however, shows that the continued use of the military may now be doing more harm than good for Trump’s favorability.
“If Donald Trump thinks that potentially sending in the National Guard into cities like Portland is a winning political issue, the polling says you are wrong Mr. President!” said CNN’s Harry Enten.
According to the new polling data shared by Enten, Trump’s use of federal troops is now well underwater, with 58% of voters opposed. Among independent voters, that opposition rises to 64%.
“We've heard this song before, and what happened the last time that Trump sent National Guard [members] into a national city?” Enten continued.
“Well, look at the change in Trump's net approval: overall, it dropped four points! How about immigration? It dropped by seven points! We have a history of Trump sending the National Guard into a western city and what happened was there were clear political ramifications for the president of the United States, and they were not good ramifications.”
The souring of American voters on Trump’s antics also extended to Immigration Customs and Enforcement, the nation’s chief immigration agency. Enten shared data that showed net approval of ICE during Trump’s first term was at 0 points, but now, has reached a net negative 14.
“Down it goes because of their actions during the second Trump term. In fact, the Pew Research Center polled 16 different agencies; ICE's net popularity rating was 15th out of 16th, it was close to being the least popular of them all,” Enten said.
“Bottom line is the president may think this is a politically winning issue for him, but the numbers tell a very different story. It's, in fact, a political loser.”
