Support for US President Donald Trump has fallen to 32 per cent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Monday. The drop was seen among independent voters and Hispanic voters.
This development could harm the Republican Party a month before the congressional elections, on which the control of the House of Representatives and the Senate depends. A poll by NBC News and Telemundo published on Sunday shows that 59 per cent of Hispanic voters want Congress controlled by Democrats, double the figure from two years ago. Only 24 per cent of Hispanic Americans approve of Trump's performance.
Trump dismissed questions from the press about his ratings on Monday before boarding a flight to Nebraska. 'I'm doing great,' he told a reporter who asked about the drop in support among Hispanic voters, before blaming CNN and the media. 'You are CNN, you are fake news,' he said.
Trump has been campaigning across the country for Republican candidates in recent days. Some Republicans have distanced themselves from the president over issues such as immigration in order to maintain local support. Americans are dissatisfied with the economy and the war with Iran, among other key issues, which they attribute to the administration.
Trump said that he would pay out to all US citizens if Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. In a post on social media, he said that if Republicans win in 2026, he will give all US citizens $5,000. 'Thank you for your attention and I look forward to signing those checks,' he added.
Trump also responded to criticism over television advertisements funded by taxpayer money that promote his policies, saying that he would pay for them himself with money raised for MAGA, Inc. The ads were described in a post on social media as 'positive promotion for our great USA' and 'a pretty standard thing'. Last week, two Democratic congressmen asked federal watchdogs to investigate whether the administration had illegally used taxpayer money to broadcast the ads. James Raskin and George Whitley wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Wednesday, describing the ads as 'desperate election propaganda'.
In a separate development, a coalition of state attorneys general from 16 states announced a lawsuit against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over changes to the children's vaccination schedule. The lawsuit challenges changes made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January, when it stopped recommending seven vaccines for children, including those that protect against hepatitis B, flu, RSV and meningitis. The lawsuit also challenges Kennedy's decision to remove all voting members from the CDC's immunization practice advisory committee.
'These vaccines have kept millions of children out of hospital and saved countless lives for decades,' said New York Attorney General Letitia James. 'Families deserve evidence-based guidance, and these sudden changes put children's health at risk.' The coalition includes attorneys from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Pennsylvania is currently experiencing the largest outbreak of measles in over three decades, with more than 1,000 reported cases.
A new poll by the New York Times and Siena shows that four key Democratic candidates are leading in their races against Republicans in key red states that have become more competitive in recent weeks. This is the case in the races in Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alabama.
