Today's Poll Question: Are America's Best Days Ahead Or Behind?

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Get ready to vote on today's daily poll question at smerconish.com.

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But first, Michael explains it for you right here.

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Welcome to The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

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For Independent Minds.

**Michael Smerconish** (0:14)
Hello, hello. Today is Tuesday, it's the 9th of June, 2026 Here's the poll question at smerconish.com. Are America's best days ahead or behind? Are America's best days ahead of us or behind us? As I speak, I'm polishing today's note for the smerconish.com newsletter. Can I hit you with that quickly? It's not about whether our best days are ahead or behind, but it's instead about last night's NBA Finals game. I'm writing this, checking this for spelling as I read aloud. President Trump returned to the garden last night.
The reception was nothing like he gets at a UFC fight. There are as many headlines in the media today about him being booed as there are about the outcome of the game. That is so true. Like, every news account that I'm seeing, it's like, oh, Trump was booed last night. The Knicks lost, fans immediately blamed him, and it might be just the start.
Talisman. That's a funny word. Talisman. As a teenager, I always wore the same hat to Eagles games at the vet. It was my good luck charm. After all, I'd been wearing it the day that Wilbert Montgomery chewed up the turf against the Cowboys and earned the Eagles a bid to their first Super Bowl. Never mind that I'd also been wearing it for countless losses before Dick Vermeel arrived in town. Superstition is the engine of sports fandom. We're creatures of ritual and magical thinking, blaming ourselves when things go wrong, crediting our lucky hats when things go right.
And politicians, it turns out, are not immune from the same treatment. New York City Mayor Zeran Mamdani learned this the hard way back in April. On his 100th day in office, he visited city field, hugged Mr. and Mrs. Mett, posed for photos. The Mets then lost 12 games in a row, their longest skid in over two decades. Fans dubbed it the curse of the Mambino.
This has history. Bill de Blasio was the first New York City Mayor in over a century to preside over zero championships by any of the city's major sports teams. Eight years, nothing. The curse of the Blasbino. Every mayor going back a hundred years had seen at least one title de Blasio managed, none, perhaps because he spent his tenure openly rooting for the Red Sox and the Patriots. Now back to Trump. He became the first sitting president ever to attend an NBA Finals game. Taking in game three at Madison Square Garden in the Knicks, providing a 13-game playoff winning streak, they lost to the Spurs 115 to 111 Stephen A warned this was going to happen, that Trump would ruin the vibe. Gavin Newsom gleefully piled on.
But here's the point. Next up, the World Cup kicks off on Thursday on American soil. The Summer Olympics come to Los Angeles in 2028, and you know Trump is going to want to be front and center for both. I might lend him my hat.

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This is the Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

**Michael Smerconish** (3:22)
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The Daily Poll Question at smerconish.com.

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A non-scientific social political question, designed to spark broader discussions about current issues.

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Get ready to cast your ballot and leave a rating and review of this podcast on your favorite podcast app.