Former US President Donald Trump stated that he will spend $400 million supporting Republican candidates in the midterm races by election day on 3 November. The funds will be deployed through his political operation and the associated Super PAC, MAGA Inc.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that more than $300 million has already been spent on advertising, direct and indirect contact with voters, rallies, arena events, tele-rallies, get-out-the-vote programmes, election integrity and other initiatives. He cited his confidence in the Republican Party, as well as the unrest that has gripped France, as reasons for such expenditure. Trump repeated unfounded claims that the demonstrations in France, which escalated into chaos and led to thousands of arrests, were the result of mass migration.
Trump held a rally in North Carolina as part of a weekly tour supporting Republicans ahead of the midterms. He stated that there would be no "money" to resolve claims related to water contamination at Camp Lejeune military base if Republicans do not win the upcoming elections. "If we win the House of Representatives and the Senate, I am directing the Department of Justice to resolve all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible, take them off the books and bring them to a close," Trump said. "If we don't win, there is no money. If we win, you will get it and it will finally be over, that nightmare that has lasted so many years," he added.
Camp Lejeune was built in the early 1940s, and from the early 1950s to the late 1980s its drinking water was contaminated with industrial solvents. Trump said his administration has so far paid out $1 billion in compensation to affected veterans and their families. In Kansas on Monday, he stated he would not allow year-round sales of gasoline with a higher ethanol blend if voters in that state chose a Democrat instead of Republican Senator Roger Marshall.
During the rally in North Carolina, Trump largely stuck to a familiar script, repeating conspiracy theories about paid protesters, falsehoods about Roy Cooper's tenure as governor, and complimenting male bodies. Several protesters were removed from the event, including one who was demonstrating against high fuel prices. Trump called the protesters "losers" and claimed their parents were likely his supporters and would physically punish them for the disruption. He also falsely suggested that crime in North Carolina had risen under Roy Cooper, the Democratic Senate candidate, because approximately 3,500 inmates were released during the pandemic while he was governor. The Trump administration agreed to the release of these inmates as part of a settlement.
New research reveals a growing "empathy gap" between Republicans and white evangelicals and the rest of the American public. On Tuesday, the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published its annual American Values Survey. The research showed that white evangelical Protestants are the only religious group in which a majority does not consider empathy a fundamental moral value (42 per cent). A majority (54 per cent) said empathy can be dangerous when it leads people away from a society guided by God's truth, PRRI reported.
Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, announced new investments in semiconductor production in North Carolina, telling Trump supporters at a rally in the state that Sibelco would build a silicon production facility. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is donating $80 million to Democrats ahead of the upcoming elections. Trump loyalist and right-wing influencer Laura Loomer sharply attacked the Department of Justice on Tuesday, saying the agency was belittling veterans, who had been exposed to contaminated drinking water at the military base decades ago, with "low" settlement offers.
