Quote of the day:

I don’t like the fact that my chances of survival seem to be linked to the common sense of others. -Unknown

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm and humor.

This week’s topics include Greg Gianforte, Biden/Trump fundraising, unemployment claims, Bolton’s book, COVID-19 cases/deaths, Trump’s disapproval rating, 2020 Census, 43 Alumni for Biden, CNN breaks records, Daines’ Meet-and-Greet, plus much more!

184,000,000

MTN News is reporting that Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte released tax returns Wednesday showing that he and his wife, Susan, reported $184 million of income the past 10 years. (MTN News)

Show off. Maybe Gianforte can get his buddy, Donald Trump, to release his returns before the court makes him…

10,000,000

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign and joint committees outraised President Trump by $10 million in the month of June. (The Hill)

There will be plenty of money for everyone…

1,427,000

In the week ending June 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 1,427,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 1,480,000 to
1,482,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,503,750, a decrease of 117,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 1,620,750 to 1,621,250. (DOL)

780,000

Former national security adviser John Bolton’s memoir, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” sold more than 780,000 copies in all formats through its first week on sale in the U.S., publisher Simon & Schuster said Wednesday, the latest strong performance for a political book. (WSJ.com)

Merica!

127,299

As of Wednesday evening, the U.S. had recorded 2,624,873 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 127,299 deaths. That is according to the CDC. (CDC)

Last Thursday the deaths numbered 121,117.

56.1

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating. His approval rating is just 40.5%. (FiveThirtyEight)

Last week his disapproval rating was 55.4%.

46

That’s Montana’s rank for the 2020 Census self-response. Last week Montana was ranked 46. Montana has a 55.5% response rate to rank #46. Last week Montana had a 55.3% response rate. Minnesota leads the nation with a 71.4% rating. The national average is 61.8%. (Census)

Fill out your forms, people!

43

Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush are set to endorse Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden, people involved in the effort said, the latest Republican-led group coming out to oppose the re-election of Donald Trump. The officials, who include Cabinet secretaries and other senior people in the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee – 43 Alumni for Biden – to support the former vice president in his Nov. 3 race, three organizers of the group told Reuters. Bush was the country’s 43rd president. (Reuters)

Trump has destroyed the Republican Party…

40

An extraordinary stretch of news with the coronavirus pandemic and racial reckoning triggered by George Floyd’s death has led CNN to its biggest audience for any three-month period in the network’s 40-year history. (AP)

Apparently they still trail Fox News and MSNBC…

3

U.S. Senator Steve Daines is holding a “Meet-and-Greet” in Great Falls on July 3, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The event is at the Great Falls – Montana Victory Office which is located at 721 10th Ave South. (Daines PR)

The Cascade County (Great Falls) Republicans have a prime location for their victory office – 10th Avenue South is one of the busiest streets in Montana.

2

The White House and Commerce Department forced the Census Bureau to take two new political appointees last week whose unexpected arrival has deepened fears at the agency that the 2020 census will be politicized, according to three people familiar with the matter. (Politico)

It has been politicized and that’s not good.

##END##