Trump blasts ‘disloyal’ Sen. Cassidy while pushing challenger in Louisiana Republican primary

ABC News: Politics — 2026-05-16 18:01:00 — abcnews.com

NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is fighting for his political life in Louisiana’s Republican primary on Saturday as he faces a challenge backed by President Donald Trump, the latest attempt by the president to purge the party of politicians he views as disloyal. Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy, in an unusual attempt to dislodge an incumbent senator. Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Cassidy, a doctor, has also clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy, even though he provided crucial support to help Kennedy get confirmed.

The president unloaded on Cassidy on Saturday morning, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy” on social media. Trump criticized the senator’s impeachment vote and said “he’s going to get CLOBBERED,” adding that Letlow is “a winner who will NEVER let you down.” A third candidate is state Treasurer John Fleming. If no one gets at least 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held June 27. The winner will almost certainly take the November general election because of the state’s Republican leanings.

The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary is moving forward, Louisiana leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that could cause confusion for voters on Saturday. Cassidy has waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should not be counted out. “Four months ago I would have told you it’s impossible for Cassidy to win this,” said Mary-Patricia Wray, who has consulted for Republican and Democratic candidates in Louisiana. “I still think it’s statistically unlikely, but no longer impossible.”

Paul Begue, a 41-year-old in New Orleans who works in the agriculture industry, said he planned to vote for Cassidy. He was bothered by a video of Trump saying Letlow was “as loyal as can be.” For Begue, that was “the final nail in the coffin.” “I don’t care about her loyalty to President Trump,” he said, adding, “I like elected officials that seem to make their own decisions.” The senator’s campaign is expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him, is on track to spend $12.3 million.

By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, has spent roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, has spent about $6 million since then. Fleming’s campaign has spent about $1.5 million. Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow within days of her entering the race for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has tried to root out of the federal government. Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020.

The ads, an attempt to characterize Letlow as a progressive trying to pass as a conservative, are one way Cassidy is trying to flip the script in a race where he’s on the outs with Trump. The senator’s vote in favor of convicting Trump after his 2021 impeachment over the Jan. 6 Capitol siege has shadowed Cassidy throughout his second Senate term. John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy’s decision. He waved a flyer from Letlow’s campaign showing her standing alongside the president. “I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said. “But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”

Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine views. Mark Workman, a 75-year-old retired infectious disease physician in the New Orleans suburbs, said he backs Fleming. Had Cassidy “stood up and blocked RFK,” Workman said, he would have supported the senator for taking a strong and courageous stance. “He had the ability to stop him,” Workman said, “and he was too weak to do that.” As chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for vaccine development.

Trump blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports. Trump withdrew the Means nomination and blasted Cassidy. “Hopefully all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!” Trump posted on social media. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s decision to postpone the congressional primaries may weigh against Cassidy. It could dampen turnout among voters who are less fervently pro-Trump, Wray said, especially if there is confusion about the schedule. “Suspending the congressional primaries hurts Cassidy,” she said. “Some people believe the Senate primary is canceled.”

Cassidy complained Friday that the new primary system enacted last year was confusing voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the previous all-party primary that had been in place. He said some called his office to say they had been unable to vote for him. “The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy told reporters. Letlow considered running last year but only entered the race after Trump announced his endorsement in January. By that time Fleming, a former House member and Trump administration official who was elected state treasurer in 2023, was already in the race as a Trump devotee. But Landry was looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to the president.

Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics. In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-blasts-disloyal-sen-cassidy-pushing-challenger-louisiana-133025227

Trump returns to the U.S. from China with pressure over rising inflation

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-16 14:41:00 — www.pbs.org

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump returned from the spectacle of a Chinese state visit to a less than welcoming U.S. economy — with the military band and garden tour in Beijing giving way to pressure over how to fix America’s escalating inflation rate. Consumer inflation in the United States increased to 3.8% annually in April, higher than what he inherited as the Iran war and the Republican president’s own tariffs have pushed up prices. Inflation is now outpacing wage gains and effectively making workers poorer. The Cleveland Federal Reserve estimates that annual inflation could reach 4.2% in May as the war has kept oil and gasoline prices high.

Trump’s time with Chinese leader Xi Jinping appears unlikely to help the U.S. economy much, despite Trump’s claims of coming trade deals. The trip occurred as many people are voting in primaries leading into the November general election while having to absorb the rising costs of gasoline, groceries, utility bills, jewelry, women’s clothing, airplane tickets and delivery services. Democrats see the moment as a political opportunity. “He’s returning to a dumpster fire,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal think tank focused on economic issues. “The president will not have the faith and confidence of the American people — the economy is their top issue and the president is saying, ‘You’re on your own.'”

The president’s trip to Beijing and his recent comments that indicated a tone-deafness to voters’ concerns about rising prices have suggested his focus is not on the American public and have undermined Republicans who had intended to campaign on last year’s tax cuts as helping families. Trump described the trip as a victory, saying on social media that Xi “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes,” as the U.S. president has praised their relationship. Trump told reporters that Boeing would be selling 200 aircraft — and maybe even 750 “if they do a good job” — to the Chinese. He said American farmers would be “very happy” because China would be “buying billions of dollars of soybeans.”

“We had an amazing time,” Trump said as he flew home on Air Force One, and told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that gasoline prices were just some “short-term pain” and would “drop like a rock” once the war ends. Inflationary pain is not a factor in how Trump handles Iran. Trump departed from the White House for China by saying the negotiations over the Iran war depended on stopping Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. That remark prompted blowback because it suggested to some that Trump cared more about challenging Iran than fighting inflation at home. Trump defended his words, telling Fox News: “That’s a perfect statement. I’d make it again.”

The White House has since stressed that Trump is focused on inflation. Asked later about the president’s words, Vice President JD Vance said there had been a “misrepresentation” of the remarks. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the “administration remains laser-focused on delivering growth and affordability on the homefront” while indicating actions would be taken on grocery prices. But as Trump appeared alongside Xi, new reports back home showed inflation rising for businesses and interest rates climbing on U.S. government debt. His comments that Boeing would sell 200 jets to China caused the company’s stock price to fall because investors had expected a larger number. There was little concrete information offered about any trade agreements reached during the summit, including Chinese purchases of U.S. exports such as liquefied natural gas and beef.

“Foreign policy wins can matter politically, but only if voters feel stability and affordability in their daily lives,” said Brittany Martinez, a former Republican congressional aide who is the executive director of Principles First, a center-right advocacy group focused on democracy issues. “Midterms are almost always a referendum on cost of living and public frustration, and Republicans are not immune from the same inflation and affordability pressures that hurt Democrats in recent cycles,” she added. Democrats see Trump as vulnerable. Democratic lawmakers are seizing on Trump’s comments before his trip as proof of his indifference to lowering costs. There is potential staying power of his remarks as Americans head into Memorial Day weekend facing rising prices for the hamburgers and hot dogs to be grilled. “What Americans do not see is any sympathy, any support, or any plan from Trump and congressional Republicans to lower costs – in fact, they see the opposite,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday.

Vance faulted the Biden administration for the inflation problem even though the inflation rate is now higher than it was when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 with a specific mandate to fix it. “The inflation number last month was not great,” Vance said Wednesday, but he then stressed, “We’re not seeing anything like what we saw under the Biden administration.” Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, a Democrat. By the time Trump took the oath of office, it was a far more modest 3%. Trump’s inflation challenge could get harder. The data tells a different story as higher inflation is spreading into the cost of servicing the national debt. Over the past week, the interest rate charged on 10-year U.S. government debt jumped from 4.36% to 4.6%, an increase that implies higher costs for auto loans and mortgages.

“My fear is that the layers of supply shocks that are affecting the U.S. economy will only further feed into inflationary pressures,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. Daco noted that last year’s tariff increases were now translating into higher clothing prices. With the Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s ability to impose tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, his administration is preparing a new set of import taxes for this summer. Daco stressed that there have been a series of supply shocks. First, tariffs cut into the supply of imports. In addition, Trump’s immigration crackdown cut into the supply of foreign-born workers. Now, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off the vital waterway used to ship 20% of global oil supplies. “We’re seeing an erosion of growth,” Daco said.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/trump-returns-to-the-u-s-from-china-with-pressure-over-rising-inflation

Trump disparages incumbent Sen. Cassidy and tries to propel his challenger in Louisiana GOP primary

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-16 09:23:00 — www.pbs.org

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is fighting for his political life in Louisiana’s Republican primary on Saturday as he faces a challenge backed by President Donald Trump, the latest attempt by the president to purge the party of politicians he views as disloyal. Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy, in an unusual attempt to dislodge an incumbent senator. Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Cassidy, a doctor, has also clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy, even though he provided crucial support to help Kennedy get confirmed.

The president unloaded on Cassidy on Saturday morning, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy” on social media. Trump criticized the senator’s impeachment vote and said “he’s going to get CLOBBERED,” adding that Letlow is “a winner who will NEVER let you down.” A third candidate is state Treasurer John Fleming. If no one gets at least 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held June 27. The winner will almost certainly take the November general election because of the state’s Republican leanings.

The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary is moving forward, Louisiana leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that could cause confusion for voters on Saturday.

Cassidy has waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should not be counted out. “Four months ago I would have told you it’s impossible for Cassidy to win this,” said Mary-Patricia Wray, who has consulted for Republican and Democratic candidates in Louisiana. “I still think it’s statistically unlikely, but no longer impossible.” Paul Begue, a 41-year-old in New Orleans who works in the agriculture industry, said he planned to vote for Cassidy. He was bothered by a video of Trump saying Letlow was “as loyal as can be.” For Begue, that was “the final nail in the coffin.” “I don’t care about her loyalty to President Trump,” he said, adding, “I like elected officials that seem to make their own decisions.”

The senator’s campaign is expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him, is on track to spend $12.3 million. By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, has spent roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, has spent about $6 million since then. Fleming’s campaign has spent about $1.5 million.

Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow within days of her entering the race for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has tried to root out of the federal government. Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020. The ads, an attempt to characterize Letlow as a progressive trying to pass as a conservative, are one way Cassidy is trying to flip the script in a race where he’s on the outs with Trump.

The senator’s vote in favor of convicting Trump after his 2021 impeachment over the Jan. 6 Capitol siege has shadowed Cassidy throughout his second Senate term. John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy’s decision. He waved a flyer from Letlow’s campaign showing her standing alongside the president. “I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said. “But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”

Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine views. Mark Workman, a 75-year-old retired infectious disease physician in the New Orleans suburbs, said he backs Fleming. Had Cassidy “stood up and blocked RFK,” Workman said, he would have supported the senator for taking a strong and courageous stance. “He had the ability to stop him,” Workman said, “and he was too weak to do that.”

As chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for vaccine development. Trump blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports. Trump withdrew the Means nomination and blasted Cassidy. “Hopefully all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!” Trump posted on social media.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s decision to postpone the congressional primaries may weigh against Cassidy. It could dampen turnout among voters who are less fervently pro-Trump, Wray said, especially if there is confusion about the schedule. “Suspending the congressional primaries hurts Cassidy,” she said. “Some people believe the Senate primary is canceled.” Cassidy complained Friday that the new primary system enacted last year was confusing voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the previous all-party primary that had been in place. He said some called his office to say they had been unable to vote for him. “The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy told reporters.

Letlow considered running last year but only entered the race after Trump announced his endorsement in January. By that time Fleming, a former House member and Trump administration official who was elected state treasurer in 2023, was already in the race as a Trump devotee. But Landry was looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to the president. Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics. In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-disparages-incumbent-sen-cassidy-and-tries-to-propel-his-challenger-in-louisiana-gop-primary

U.S. and Nigerian mission kills Islamic State group leader, Trump says

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-16 09:33:00 — www.pbs.org

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Nigerian forces killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Nigeria in a mission carried out Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said. Trump announced the joint operation in Africa’s most populous country in a late-night social media post. He said Abu Bakr al-Mainuki was second-in-command of the Islamic State group globally and “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.”

Al-Mainuki was viewed as the key figure in IS organizing and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share sensitive information. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation and said Al-Mainuki was killed alongside “several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.”

The joint operation is the latest by both countries since their new security partnership that kicked off last year after Trump claimed Christians were being targeted in Nigeria’s security crisis and threatened U.S. military intervention. Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north. According to the spokesperson for the Nigerian military task force that carried out the Friday operation, the mission was a “highly complex precision air-land operation” and was carried out during three hours of darkness early Saturday without any casualties or loss of assets.

“His elimination represents the single most consequential counterterrorism outcome” in the region since the inception of the operation in 2015, Sani Uba, the spokesperson for the task force, said in a statement. Born in Nigeria’s Borno province in 1982, al-Mainuki took the helm of the IS branch in West Africa after the group’s previous leader in the region, Mamman Nur, was killed in 2018, according to the Counter Extremism Project, which tracks militant groups. Al-Mainuki was based in the Sahel area, the monitoring group said, adding that it is believed that he fought in Libya when IS was active in the North African nation more than a decade ago. He was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023.

Questions over Al-Mainuki’s exact status in IS Trump, in his social media announcement, said Al-Mainuki was “second in command globally,” hiding in Africa, a claim that some analysts say is off the mark. The Nigerian military, in a statement, also said intelligence shows that earlier this year, Al-Mainuki might have been “elevated to the position of Head of the General Directorate of States, placing him the second most senior leader within the ISIS global hierarchy.” U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said Al-Mainuki was the senior ISIS General Directorate of Provinces Emir — “the number two for ISIS globally — responsible for overseeing the planning of attacks, directing the hostage-taking and managing financial operations.”

There is no way to verify his position within IS independently. Analysts say Al-Mainuki was the deputy to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of the Islamic State West African Province who was reported to have died in 2021. He is regarded as one of the central proponents of the formation of ISWAP, after its split with Boko Haram in 2016. “If confirmed, the killing of Al-Mainuki is huge because this is the first time a security agency has killed someone this high in the ranking of ISWAP,” Malik Samuel, a senior researcher at Good Governance Africa who specializes in insurgent groups in Nigeria, said. “The potential to cause chaos within the group is also there because the operation must have been carried out in the heart of ISWAP’s fortified base, which is very difficult to access.”

Trump in December directed U.S. forces to launch strikes against the Islamic State group in Nigeria, though he released little detail then about the impact. US and Nigeria step up joint operations The Nigerian military said the operation was a result of recently formed U.S.-Nigeria partnership and intelligence-sharing efforts. Samalia Uba, the military spokesperson, said in a statement that the operation has also “disrupted a violent terrorist network that endangered Nigeria and the broader West African region.” Nigeria has been battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with IS, as it has grappled with a multifaceted security crisis. IS affiliates in Africa have emerged as some of the continent’s most active militant groups following the collapse of the so-called IS caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2017.

The U.S. in February sent troops to the West African nation to help advise its military, and in March, the U.S. also deployed drones there after Trump’s allegations about Christians being targeted in Nigeria. The Friday night operation was the latest instance in a string of covert missions abroad that Trump has announced this year, starting with the stunning overnight raid in January to capture and remove Venezuela’s then-leader Nicolás Maduro and whisk him to the U.S., followed nearly two months later by the launch of strikes that kicked off the war with Iran. Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Dyepkazah Shibayan in Abuja, Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-and-nigerian-mission-kills-islamic-state-group-leader-trump-says

Brooks and Capehart on Trump’s trip to China

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-15 17:30:00 — www.pbs.org

At the end of this week that included President Trump’s trip to China, let’s turn now to the analysis of Brooks and Capehart. That’s “The Atlantic”‘s David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart of MS NOW. Great to see you both.

Let’s start with the president’s trip. He’s now returned from China. The visit, most analysis seems to show, big on pageantry, kind of short on concrete deals. And, David, we did see the president talk earlier about the fact that Taiwan came up with Xi Jinping, that he was pressed about it, about the U.S. arms sales in particular, and he said he wouldn’t commit either way. That worries a lot of U.S. analysts looking at this. How did you look at that?

Yes, I thought the summit was a net positive. First, the phrase everybody was using was stability. And if you’re going to have two world superpowers that are sort of enemies and friends at the same time, stability is a good thing, compared to the melodrama we have had over the last year. The second thing, as far as we know, Trump did not make concessions on advanced technology that would allow China to compete on A.I. And I was a little worried about that. So that seems to be good news. Now, on to the worry side. The first is Taiwan, as Nick Burns said earlier in the program, a little waffling there from President Trump about giving the arms — doing the arms deal with Taiwan and, even rhetorically, a little, like, ambiguity, which didn’t radiate strength. Second, decoupling. We really are decoupling our economies, and that’s been happening over the last two presidencies. And that’s necessary. We can’t be so reliant on China. And if we can get goods made in Vietnam, that’s better than goods made in China. And are we reversing that? He sent this big delegation. Are we reversing the decoupling effort, which I think is necessary? And then the third worry is the long-term picture. Both sides used stability. What Xi Jinping means by stability is you, Americans, you’re in the toilet, you’re going down, we’re going to outlast you, and we’re going to take over. What we mean by stability is, you Chinese think we’re going down, but we’re rearming, we’re rebuilding, we’re decoupling, and we’re going to be a stronger adversary. So we still have completely opposite pictures of what the future is going to look like. But, on the whole, the fact that there’s no drama, that we’re not about to go to war with each other, I will take that as a plus.

I was asked earlier, did the summit do more harm than good or no harm at all or less harm? And it didn’t do more harm, but it didn’t do any good. I mean, I take all of your points, David. But, to me, as an American watching the American president go to Beijing, and then hearing the way the president has been talking about it, particularly this notion — I cannot pronounce the name of the Greek philosopher that the Chinese president mentioned, the…

Thucydides Trap.

Thucydides, yes. That was a little — that was some high-class shade of the Chinese president to — of the American president standing right there, to your point about Xi Jinping feeling that China is ascendant, especially with an American president who has looked at the world in spheres. Trump wants the Western Hemisphere. He seems to be perfectly fine with China exerting its influence in the Pacific, which is why, to my mind, his waffling on Taiwan is very troubling. I mean, I’m old enough to remember when there were some sacrosanct beliefs of the American president. We were there for Europe’s defense and strong a proponent of NATO. That is now not so certain, and also that the United States would stand by Taiwan, rhetorically so far, never had to do it militarily. But it doesn’t seem like that that is the case, if the American president isn’t willing to say, yes, that — the $49 billion worth of arms, yes, we’re down with that. We’re still going to go for that. And he did not do that. If I were the Taiwanese leader, I would be very worried.

I should say, despite what the president said, Senator Marco — or Secretary Marco Rubio said that the U.S. policy has not changed. So we will have to see how this all plays out in real terms. But I do want to ask about what happened here in Washington last night, House Republicans once again narrowly rejected a war powers resolution. This was related, of course, to the U.S. and Israeli war in Iran. It was the first vote that they have taken since that crossed the 60-day legal deadline that requires Congress to authorize force. And, of course, the White House argues that the cease-fire stopped that clock. But there were three Republicans who voted with Democrats this time to lead it to a tie, which means it didn’t pass. Those three Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Tom Barrett of Michigan. Jared Golden was the lone Democrat to oppose it. Jonathan, I will start with you. What did those Republican votes at this point in time say to you?

It says to me that the president’s hold on the Republican Conference might be weakening with Republicans, that these Republicans — well, Thomas Massie has always been like a permanent no against the president. But these are folks who have been back in their home districts, and this is their first week back since being away. They’re hearing from their constituents, who are probably not happy about the United States being in a war, but also the impacts of those — of the war on the economy. These are folks who are driving their — seeing their gas prices through the roof. So I would like to think that they’re reflecting their constituents’ anger back at home. And if there is another vote, we will know if that is indeed the case if those three Republicans are joined by more Republicans.

Yes, I mean, I am clearly — inflation’s at 3.8 now. So that’s up. Clearly, the people who supported the war are beaming to waiver. The people who opposed the war are like, yes, we were right. And so that’s just the vibe, and that’s just the reality. As for the War Powers Act I’m old, and the War Powers Act has been invoked, as far as I know, three times in my lifetime. Well, it was created in the ’70s. I was still a little kiddie. But I think it was the two Iraq wars and Afghanistan… is the only time Congress — and all presidents have said, no, I’m not going to Congress. And, sometimes, it’s because they stopped the war at 60 days, but sometimes they just run over Congress. And I wish there would be a War Powers Act. I wish that — because we would have had a national debate about this.

One way we could have that debate you’re talking about is to — is for Senator Murkowski of Alaska to follow through on her, not so much a threat, but to offer an authorization for the use of military force. You have that conversation about what the president can and can’t do, how long it should last. And at least Congress then would at least try to establish some guardrails, but I haven’t heard anything whether that’s even going anywhere.

Well, clearly, the economic pressure is at play when it comes to how lawmakers are looking at this. Related to that, I’m sure you heard earlier in the week, before he left for China, the president was asked about how much he’s taking into account Americans’ financial concerns right now when it comes to the policy in Iran. Take a listen to how he answered.

Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.

I’m trying to think of his staff when he said that. And then I’m trying to think of the Democratic ad makers. Woo! And so he clearly shouldn’t have said it. But I understand why he said it. He’s trying to send a signal to Iran that I’m not soft here. I’m not on the ropes here. But if you’re going to try to intimidate us, it’s not going to work. I assume that was in his mind. But the actual words that came out of his mouth were impolitic. To tell the American people, I don’t really care about your economic circumstance, not a thing too many presidents or politicians say. So it was a stupid comment, but I sort of understand why he made it.

But maybe the president actually does feel that way. I mean, how else to explain launching a war with Iran and discounting the generals’ warnings that they could cut off the Strait of Hormuz and all the consequences that would cascade from that? That’s why no other president has tried to do anything like this. So, to my mind, President Trump said the not-so-quiet part out loud for everyone to hear. And I haven’t heard him try to backtrack from that at all. It’s really — it’s highly insensitive to say that when people are suffering with gas that’s approaching $5 a gallon.

We will see if Chairman Warsh has the same intestinal fortitude to resist the president’s demands when it goes against economic sense. He has a tough job ahead. We will be watching.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/brooks-and-capehart-on-trumps-trip-to-china

Primary challenge to Louisiana Sen. Cassidy tests Trump’s grip on GOP

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-15 17:35:00 — www.pbs.org

Amna Nawaz:
Tomorrow, Louisiana primary voters could oust a sitting U.S. senator for the first time in nearly 100 years. Backing the insurgency against Senator Bill Cassidy is President Donald Trump. The pair have been at political odds since Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial more than five years ago. Liz Landers looks into the tight three-way race likely to be decided by the president’s popularity.

Liz Landers:
Days before a critical primary election, voters in Louisiana were tucking into steaming plates at a crawfish boil in Lafayette.

Woman:
Thank you for your role in the community.

Liz Landers:
The Southern state finds itself in one of the most heated Republican Senate primaries this campaign cycle.

Narrator:
Bill Cassidy, he turned his back on us.

Narrator:
John Fleming wants a taxpayer-funded bus system to bring illegals into our communities.

Narrator:
She got rich trading stocks that have business before her committee.

Liz Landers:
Incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy is fighting for his political life, challenged by both Congresswoman Julia Letlow and former Congressman and Trump White House aide John Fleming. All three candidates have embraced Trump, but Trump has embraced only Letlow.

President Donald Trump:
Well, I’m thrilled to give my complete and total endorsement to your next United States senator from Louisiana, Julia Letlow.

Liz Landers:
Who did you vote for and why?

Kyle Heaslip, Republican Voter:
I voted for Letlow. I do stand behind Trump stands for as far as where we need to go in the direction of this country. So I do like his endorsements.

Liz Landers:
There’s still no clear leader in the race, despite Trump’s endorsement, popularity in the state, and social media broadsides against Cassidy, writing in a recent post: “Hopefully, all the great Republican people of Louisiana will be voting Bill Cassidy out of office.” How big of a factor is President Trump in this race? Why didn’t his endorsement skyrocket Julia Letlow’s campaign?

Jim Engster:
He has helped her. The question is how much, because she started late and she has taken a strategy of running a stealth campaign, with a few exceptions, and that’s a risky maneuver.

Liz Landers:
Louisiana radio talk show host Jim Engster has covered Pelican State politics for decades. He says the endorsement carries even greater weight because there’s so little separating the candidates on policy. Even so, Engster’s callers have had plenty to say about the state of the race.

Jim Engster:
Craig in Natchitoches. Craig, you’re on.

Caller:
What if Cassidy somehow, some way, wins the Republican primary?

Liz Landers:
Cassidy’s cardinal sin in Trump’s eyes? He voted to convict President Trump following his second impeachment trial, concluding the president spurred on the January 6 attempts to forcefully overturn the results of the 2020 election. Here’s how Cassidy explained his vote at the time:

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA):
I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. I take that seriously. Everything I considered pointed towards not putting one person above the Constitution.

Liz Landers:
More recently, Cassidy has been a reliable vote for Trump. He provided critical votes of approval for many Trump nominees, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Sen. Bill Cassidy:
There’s multiple studies establishing the safety of measles and hepatitis B vaccine.

Liz Landers:
Though the physician has also had some high-profile clashes with Kennedy over vaccine safety.

Jim Engster:
In this state, if you’re a Republican, you’re not going to buck the president because it would be political suicide. And Bill Cassidy, who did it once, has learned the hard way that it’s hard to walk that back.

Liz Landers:
As Cassidy does try to walk it back, he’s also trying to win support from Democratic voters after the state did away with the nonpartisan free-for-all, replaced by a GOP primary where only Republicans or those without a party can vote. But Democrats we met at the polls say it’s not worth making the switch.

Eric Johnson, Democratic Voter:
I feel like it really is six in one hand, half-a-dozen in the other. I mean, pick the lesser of two evils.

Liz Landers:
Governor Jeff Landry led the move to close the primary process here, which some think was designed to kneecap Cassidy’s reelection chances.

Will Kellner, Republican Voter:
Like, you’re going to want to pinch it like that.

Liz Landers:
OK.

Will Kellner:
And then you can do it. Had you done it like you…

Liz Landers:
Back at the boil and over a tray full of crawfish, Will Kellner says his top voting issue is separation of powers and not federalizing every issue. He sees national politics looming over the Senate primary. Who are you leaning towards?

Will Kellner:
I think having somebody like Cassidy, who’s got some experience in his committee assignments and institutional knowledge, is important.

Liz Landers:
How much does Trump’s endorsement matter in this primary?

Will Kellner:
I think a lot here in South Louisiana and across the South. His voice still matters.

Liz Landers:
But the night’s cook, a crawfish farmer in Louisiana, Jake Mouton, who spent the evening serving up his Cajun meals at the crawfish boil, told us that he’s still undecided on who he will vote for. But he says Cassidy’s vote to convict in the impeachment trial matters. Have you voted for Cassidy in the past?

Jake Mouton, Republican Voter:
Yes.

Liz Landers:
Why did you vote for him in the past and why are you maybe not sure now?

Jake Mouton:
He resonated with people from Louisiana. And he’s still that candidate. But at the same time, I feel like there’s always a newcomer and somebody that could maybe freshen things up.

Jim Engster:
This is Jim Engster, and welcome to “Talk Louisiana.”

Liz Landers:
Engster says, on the issues, the three competitive candidates don’t differ much, but there are style points that may determine how the race goes and margin matters. If any candidate receives 50 percent support, they can avoid a primary run-off late next month. Cassidy has tried to brand Julia Letlow as liberal Letlow.

Narrator:
You can’t trust liberal Julia Letlow.

Liz Landers:
Is that sticking here?

Jim Engster:
I think he has defined her to some extent. And if it were a head-up race between the two of them, it might have mattered. But he’s got John Fleming. And he of the three was considered the one least likely to win, but now he is in position where I think any one of the three could win and likely any two of the three could be in a run-off.

Liz Landers:
Looming in the background of this Senate race are the delayed U.S. House primaries in Louisiana. Those were suspended when Governor Landry declared a state of emergency after the Supreme Court told Louisiana to redraw their — quote — “unconstitutional maps.” Senator Cassidy is even reminding voters that the Senate primary hasn’t changed.

Narrator:
Election Day is still May 16.

Liz Landers:
Those House primaries haven’t been rescheduled yet, so it’s possible whichever candidate doesn’t make the run-off would have the option to run in another race. For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Liz Landers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/primary-challenge-to-louisiana-sen-cassidy-tests-trumps-grip-on-gop

Trump talks up trade deals with China, but experts see no big wins for U.S.

Politics – CBSNews.com — 2026-05-15 18:52:00 — www.cbsnews.com

This week’s summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could ease economic tensions between the countries in the short term, but failed to deliver any breakthrough trade deals, according to some experts. “I was expecting that China would announce mega purchases of U.S. agriculture, energy and airplanes,” Wendy Cutler, a former negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, told CBS News. “So far, it doesn’t seem like Trump and his team have a lot to show for the visit.” President Trump on Friday said the meeting in Beijing had produced “fantastic trade deals” and characterized the trip as an “incredible visit,” while Chinese officials opened the door to new areas of cooperation with the U.S. “It looks like both sides are saying they got somewhere, but we are not there yet — we are still waiting,” said David Meale, head of the China practice at Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm. “Neither side has come out with a clear statement of details. I don’t think that means it’s a failure or that those deals don’t exist. They just need to cross the Ts and dot the Is on a few things. One winner likely to emerge from the talks is Boeing. Trump said on Friday that China had agreed to purchase at least 200 aircraft from the U.S. aviation giant and that the number could eventually grow to 750 planes. Boeing told CBS News that it viewed the trip as a success and that the company accomplished its “major goal of reopening the China market to orders for Boeing aircraft.” “This included an initial commitment for 200 aircraft and we expect further commitments will follow after this initial tranche,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement.

Yet the initial aircraft order is smaller than some analysts expected before the summit, according to investment advisory firm Capital Economics. Boeing shares fell 3.8% on Friday, a sign that investors were underwhelmed by the deal news. Mr. Trump also said that China agreed to buy more U.S. oil and agricultural products, including “billions of dollars of soybeans” from American farmers. A White House official told CBS News that Mr. Trump’s trip had delivered important agricultural agreements that expand U.S. farmers’ exports to China and an aircraft purchase agreement that will boost U.S. manufacturing jobs. More details on the agreements are forthcoming, the official added. The White House also said the U.S. has established what it called a “Board of Trade” and “Board of Investment” to manage the U.S.’s economic relationship with China.

Non-binding commitments For now, specifics on the deals remain scant, energy and trade experts noted. “As far as I can tell, this isn’t confirmed, and we haven’t seen a statement saying that China wants to buy X barrels of oil per day from the U.S.,” said China energy policy expert Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA. “Saying that China wants to buy more energy from the U.S. will please Trump, but it doesn’t bind China to anything.” Cutler, now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a think tank focused on trade and investment, said she was expecting more details on renewed Chinese commitments to buy other U.S. farm products, including corn and beef. Economists also noted that the deals with China Mr. Trump touted remain only verbal commitments, with no guarantee they will materialize. For example, Mr. Trump’s 2017 trip to China led to an agreement for the state-owned China Energy Investment Corporation to invest nearly $84 billion in shale gas and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia. But the plans dissolved as U.S.-China tensions grew. Trade experts emphasized that U.S. and Chinese officials could iron out such deals in the coming weeks and months. “This is not their one and only meeting, which could lead to both sides deciding to take their time before they announce anything, rather than rushing,” Cutler noted.

Framework for stability? Cutler also underlined the potential value of the world’s two largest economies holding constructive talks. Chinese and U.S. officials described the meeting as a way to stabilize the relationship, which deteriorated last year after Mr. Trump imposed tariffs of up to 125% on Chinese imports, prompting countermeasures from China on U.S. products. “They get to relabel the relationship as stable, and it feels like there is a new framework for how we’re going to engage on the economic front,” Cutler said. That framework includes the new Board of Trade, which would mediate trade disputes between the countries. As part of that mechanism, the sides would consider lifting tariffs on roughly $30 billion in goods, Reuters reported. Still, that number is less than 10% of the value of trade between the U.S. and China in 2025, according to Capital Economics. As of February, China faced a U.S. tariff rate of roughly 32%, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a University of Pennsylvania research group that analyzes the fiscal impact of public policies. Chinese tariffs on U.S. experts average around 10%.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-xi-jinping-china-trade-deals-boeing/

Lawmakers press Trump for military support for Taiwan after Xi summit

Politics – CBSNews.com — 2026-05-15 18:53:00 — www.cbsnews.com

Washington — Lawmakers in both parties say the U.S. should continue to provide arms to Taiwan after President Trump, at the end of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said he hasn’t decided whether to move forward with a pending arms sale to the island. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Friday after departing Beijing, Mr. Trump said he and Xi “talked a lot about Taiwan” during their summit and confirmed the Chinese leader had brought up the U.S. weapons sale. The president said he made “no commitment either way” on the issue and declined to publicly state whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

The comments quickly drew attention on Capitol Hill, where Taiwan has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support and lawmakers have been pushing the administration to move ahead with a delayed $14 billion arms sale that Congress approved in January. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and former House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said Friday that the U.S. must “arm Taiwan so they can defend themselves for deterrence against Chairman Xi.” McCaul said that during the summit, Xi was “very aggressive” regarding Taiwan and added that “most of what [Xi] talked about was Taiwan.”

Asked about the fact that the president has not yet made a decision on the arms sale, McCaul replied that there “should be” a decision. During the summit, Xi told Mr. Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations, according to a Chinese readout of their meeting. A Chinese ministry spokesperson said Xi made it clear that if Taiwan “is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability.” If not, “the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.” The ministry said Xi also told Mr. Trump that “‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water.”

After meeting with Xi, Mr. Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier he views the pending weapons sale as a “very good negotiating chip.” “I may do it, I may not do it,” the president said, later adding: “Taiwan would be very smart to cool it a little bit. China would be very smart to cool it a little bit.” House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, also stressed the importance of U.S. support for Taiwan’s defenses. Meeks was among a group of top House Democrats who had urged Mr. Trump ahead of the summit to approve the delayed package before meeting Xi, warning that delaying Taiwan arms sales could weaken deterrence of Chinese aggression in the Taiwan Strait. “I think it is important for us to make sure that Taiwan does have what it needs to defend itself,” Meeks told CBS News on Friday.

Meeks also argued Xi has “leverage over the president” but not “over the United States Congress and the American people.” He said Congress has already acted on the package, and “the president is the one that’s holding it up.” Speaker Mike Johnson also reiterated his support for Taiwan Friday, though he said he has not yet received a full readout from Trump on the talks with Xi. “We’ve always been concerned, and we’ve made America’s interests very clear,” Johnson said. “Our position on Taiwan, they need to stay independent and secure there.” Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick compared Taiwan to Ukraine, calling both “fortresses of democracy” that are “on the front lines.” “We have to support Taiwan,” Fitzpatrick said. “We should be bolstering it.” Taiwan emerged as one of the most closely watched issues ahead of Trump’s trip to Beijing, as lawmakers worried that the administration could delay or reconsider future arms sales as part of broader negotiations with China on trade and Iran. The U.S. announced a record $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan late last year, angering Beijing and prompting Chinese military exercises near the island. The larger $14 billion package is still awaiting Mr. Trump’s signature four months after Congress approved it.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawmakers-press-trump-for-military-support-for-taiwan-after-he-leaves-arms-package-unresolved/

Colorado governor says he will grant clemency to Trump-aligned election conspiracy theorist

Politics — 2026-05-15 16:58:00 — www.politico.com

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Friday that he will grant clemency to Tina Peters, a former county clerk and darling of election conspiracy theorists who was serving a nine-year prison sentence for allowing unauthorized access to voting machines after the 2020 election. Polis, a Democrat, told CNN that he is halving her sentence, meaning she could be paroled within a month after accounting for time already served for aiding efforts to overturn the presidential election. The Colorado governor said his decision came after Peters acknowledged her wrongdoing in an application for leniency, which was obtained by CNN. POLITICO has not independently reviewed the document.

Polis told CNN he believed Peters’ was unfairly punished for free expression in her comments alleging fraud in the 2020 election. “I hope that Democrats don’t sacrifice our deeply held belief in free speech because of political expediency or disregard for what people are saying,” Polis told CNN. “There should be no consideration of what we say, how unpopular it is, how inaccurate it is in sentencing or in criminal proceedings.” Polis’ decision followed months of intense pressure from President Donald Trump, who issued his own symbolic pardon of Peters last year, but cannot grant clemency for violations of state law.

Trump has repeatedly called on Polis to free Peters, and his pressure campaign came as his administration has taken a series of actions to slash funding to and litigate against Colorado. Also in December, Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill meant to bring clean water to the state, the first and only veto of his second term. Polis told CNN he spoke with Trump privately about Peters’ case, but insisted he granted her clemency after “looking at the merits of the case.”

The Democratic governor, who has occasionally bucked his own party, suggested he was weighing granting Peters clemency in March, after a former Democratic state senator was sentenced to probation and community service after being convicted of similar charges. “Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law,” he wrote on X.

Peters was convicted on four state felony charges in August 2024 by a Colorado jury after she fraudulently gave a right-wing activist affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell access to the Mesa County election system. She was unrepentant in her sentencing hearing two months later, telling the court that she’d “never done anything with malice to break the law.” Peters’ conviction was upheld by an appeals court in April, but ruled that the lower court’s decision to impose a nine-year sentence was too harsh.

In a statement issued before Polis’ decision on Friday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat now running for attorney general, strongly urged Polis not to grant leniency to Peters. “Peters organized the breach of the election equipment, broke the public trust and attacked the very foundations of our democratic process,” she said. “Her actions are still being used to try to undermine the 2026 election. She should get no special treatment by the Governor, and his statement is shocking and worrisome.”

Peters’ case has long attracted the attention of prominent Republicans, including Trump, who falsely argue that former President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election was fraudulent. “Democrats have been relentless in their targeting of TINA PETERS, a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in December. “Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the ‘crime’ of demanding Honest Elections.”

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/15/colorado-clemency-trump-election-conspiracy-theorist-00924870

Trump said Americans’ finances don’t motivate him in Iran talks. How are people doing economically?

PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories — 2026-05-15 16:42:00 — www.politifact.com

President Donald Trump’s recent answer to a question about how Americans are faring economically sparked claims of callousness. A reporter asked Trump on May 12 how much Americans’ financial situations factor in when he’s weighing decisions about Iran. Trump responded, “Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about American(s’) financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, that’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me.”

Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quickly pounced. “Trump’s clueless comments make my blood boil,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Americans can’t understand how a president could be so cold, so callous. And so proud of it.”

In light of Trump’s comment, we decided to examine how the economy is treating average Americans. We looked at metrics for inflation, wages, job creation, consumer debt and public opinion surveys about the economy. We asked the White House to suggest its own metrics, but it did not share any.

In a statement to PolitiFact, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung focused on the question’s original context: the Iran war and negotiations to end it. “The President’s ultimate responsibility is the safety and security of Americans,” he said. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if action wasn’t taken, they’d have one, which threatens all Americans.”

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the center-right American Action Forum, said on the economic front, there’s not a lot to celebrate. “For the majority of Americans the economy is close to stagnant — little hiring (or firing), real wages nearly flat, sustained inflation, and little optimism that things will change,” Holtz-Eakin said.

In seven charts, we show how the U.S. economy is performing for average Americans. Prices for key goods and services have increased. Rising prices are a big concern for many Americans, after experiencing an inflation peak around 9% in 2022. In six broad categories tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — groceries, electricity, housing, apparel, medical care, and tuition and childcare — prices have not only risen during Trump’s presidency but also have risen faster than the 2% inflation rate that the Federal Reserve targets. The increases during the first 16 months of Trump’s second term have ranged from 3.2% for groceries to 8.7% for electricity.

Gasoline is another major item many Americans purchase, and its price has soared since Trump launched the Iran war in February and Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Today’s nationwide average gasoline price per gallon is among the highest ever recorded.

Mortgage rates also fell from 6.96% when Trump took office in January 2025 to 5.98% in late February, but they have since risen to 6.36%. Wages outpaced inflation early in Trump’s second term, but not anymore. Early in 2025, wages grew robustly, consistently outpacing inflation. But inflation has picked up since the Iran war started, and now those early wage gains have all but disappeared.

Consumer loan delinquency has risen steadily. Feeling the inflation squeeze, consumers are struggling more with debt as they turn to credit to cover costs. One measure, the share of loaned money that is delinquent in being repaid, has increased steadily during Trump’s second term. Delinquency rates for credit card debt and auto loan debt are roughly the same as during the Great Recession, which peaked in 2009. Mortgage and home-equity loan delinquencies are below their Great Recession levels, although they have also risen during Trump’s second term.

Job creation in Trump’s second term has lagged. Job creation in Trump’s second term has trailed several recent presidents, including his own first term and his predecessor, Joe Biden. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama saw jobs decline during their first 16 months, but they were contending with recessions, which Trump hasn’t during his second term. The entirety of the job gains have come from one sector, healthcare. Subtracting those from the total leaves a net loss for the rest of the economy — down 34,500 jobs.

Americans are telling pollsters they aren’t pleased with the economy, inflation. You don’t have to use economic data to determine how Americans feel about the economy. You can ask them directly — and the consensus is that they are not happy. One frequently cited metric by economists and journalists is the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The score for March 2026, the most recent month, was 53.3. That’s the ninth-lowest score since the monthly survey began in 1978. Of those nine lowest marks, five have come during Trump’s second term. (Two happened during 40-year-high inflation under Biden in 2022 and two came during even higher inflation under Jimmy Carter in 1980.)

Other public opinion polls also frequently ask Americans about their opinions on the economy. One widely used polling aggregator is compiled by Silver Bulletin, a website published by FiveThirtyEight.com founder Nate Silver. It collects polling data to produce “net approval” measurements, which refer to the share of respondents saying they approve of the president’s handling of a given issue minus the share saying they disapprove. A positive net approval number means the president has more approvers than disapprovers; a negative net approval number means they have more disapprovers than approvers. During his second term, net approval for Trump’s handling of the economy has cratered. It began in positive territory when he was inaugurated in January 2025 but turned negative the next month. Since then, his net approval has continued to sink; in mid-May, disapproval exceeded approval by more than 24 percentage points. And approval for Trump’s handling of inflation has fared worse; disapproval exceeds approval by nearly 40 percentage points.

RELATED: President Donald Trump said U.S. consumer confidence is ‘way up.’ Metrics don’t bear that out. RELATED: Trump is wrong: Gas prices have reached near record highs, not ‘come down very substantially’.

Source: https://www.politifact.com/article/2026/may/15/trump-economy-inflation-jobs-consumers-polls/