Trump voters reach ‘breaking point’ as prices continue to soar: report
A significant number of President Donald Trump’s supporters may have reached their “breaking point” as costs continue to climb, according to a new poll from Politico published Saturday.
The poll found that the “typical” Trump supporter would be willing to pay $65 more per month in taxes if it meant supporting the president’s agenda. After the Democratic sweep in this week’s elections, however, Politico’s Jessica Piper argued that Trump’s policies – which some critics have blamed for the rising costs of goods and energy – had officially gone too far for Trump voters.
“The POLITICO Poll results are a reminder that — while many of Trump’s supporters have a reputation for intense loyalty — they also have a breaking point,” Piper wrote. “And Tuesday’s election results suggest that despite Republican voters’ willingness to pay a literal price for Trump’s policies, the Trump agenda to date may have pushed voters too far.”
Trump’s tariff policy in particular has seen the cost of goods soar, with Americans bearing the cost of the tariffs by as much as 55%, NBC News reported. Energy prices have also soared, increasing twice as fast as inflation since the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to the Trump administration’s war on clean energy, and in spite of Trump’s pledge to slash energy prices “by half within 12 months.”
The Democratic candidates that clenched victory this week all ran on the issue of affordability, signaling an appetite among voters for politicians pledging to lower cost-of-living expenses. The messaging proved so successful that Trump himself has launched a new push to target affordability, while decrying Democrats’ attempts to advocate for affordability a “con job.”
Grocery prices have increased nearly 30% in the past five years, and wage growth has struggled to keep up.Senate Republican calls closed-door GOP meeting an ‘intergalactic freak show’
President Donald Trump has ordered senators to remain in Washington D.C. throughout the weekend to negotiate an end to the ongoing government shutdown. But negotiations — even among Republicans — have become fractious.
That's according to a Friday article in Politico, which reported that bipartisan talks in the Senate have appeared to sputter after an offer from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was almost instantly rejected by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) along with most of the Senate Republican Conference. That deal included a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are due to expire at the end of 2025, in exchange for Democrats voting for the House of Representatives' continuing resolution that House Republicans passed in September.
Now, Politico reports that senators are once again at an impasse. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) was not optimistic that his colleagues would be able to hammer out an agreement by the end of the weekend.
"What we have here is an intergalactic freak show," Kennedy said after leaving a closed-door meeting with the Senate Republican Conference. When asked what senators could accomplish this weekend, the Louisiana Republican said "nothing."
"We're going to be here for a long time," he said.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), whose bill to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) was blocked by Thune in October, was unmoved by Republicans' apparent inability to come together on a solution to end the shutdown.
"My adage is, put them in a barn and don’t let them out until they come up with a solution," he told Politico.
According to the outlet, senior members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have been assembling a three-bill package that would fund government agencies and programs for a full year, while bipartisan Senate negotiators are contemplating three separate bills to fund government agencies through next year. Senators are also pushing for legislation that would prevent Trump from making so-called "pocket rescissions," in which the president refuses to allow money appropriated by Congress to be spent. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) argued it was "insane" that Trump had yet to meet with Congressional leadership to iron out a deal.
"They refuse to engage," he said. "It’s killing the country."
Trump backs down on dispute with ally while threatening to take another land mass by force
President Donald Trump walked back his criticism of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's agreement to transfer ownership of a strategically located island to Mauritius.
The 79-year-old president has complained that the United Kingdom plans to decolonize the Chagos Islands, including the site of the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, but he said Starmer had reassured him on the transfer of sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
"I have had very productive discussions with Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the Island of Diego Garcia," Trump posted on Truth Social. "It is the site of a major U.S. Military Base, strategically situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean and, therefore, of great importance to the National Security of the United States."
"I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make," he added. "However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers U.S. operations and forces at our Base, I retain the right to Militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia."
Trump vowed to keep the base at Diego Garcia no matter what Mauritius might decide in the future.
"Let it be known that I will never allow our presence on a Base as important as this to ever be undermined or threatened by fake claims or environmental nonsense," he posted. "Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP."
