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The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Donald Trump is breaking America — our children will suffer worst
Last month, a Quinnipiac University poll asked voters to identify their biggest concerns six months into the second Trump presidency. The pollsters asked about nine specific issues, ranging from the health of democracy to President Trump's performance on immigration, the economy, climate change and crime. However, the most important issue wasn't on the list. It's the impact Trump is having on our children. Studies show they are more influenced by his example than we might think. We have been amply warned about Trump. His former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, famously called the president 'the most flawed person' he has ever known. He correctly predicted that Trump's second term 'would be chaotic because he'd continually be trying to exceed his authority, but the sycophants would go along with it.' A month before the 2024 election, 200 mental health professionals signed an open letter published by the anti-Trump Anti-Psychopath PAC describing him as a 'malignant narcissist' with an untreatable personality disorder. They cited his 'lifetime pattern of 'failure to conform to social norms and laws,' 'repeated lying,' 'reckless disregard for the safety of others,' 'irritability,' 'impulsivity,' 'irresponsibility,' and 'lack of remorse.'' A new book by James Kimmel, a Yale psychiatrist, calls Trump a 'revenge addict' who feels victimized, nurses perceived grievances, ruminates about retaliation, and has a compulsive and potentially violent desire for retribution. We are witnessing these and other malignant behaviors. The news media have been generous in calling Trump a transactional president. He doesn't transact — he extorts. 'President Donald Trump prides himself on being a dealmaker, but his negotiating style is more ultimatum than compromise,' an AP dispatch explains. 'For Trump, a deal isn't necessarily an agreement in which two sides compromise. It's an opportunity to bend others to his will.' His punitive trade tariffs, exorbitant lawsuits and unlawful freezes on congressionally appropriated funds are all examples. And Trump explodes with juvenile insults to disparage people he doesn't like. Trump's policies and behaviors affect America's reputation at home and abroad, but they may have the most lasting effect on children. He dominates the daily news cycles with bad behavior. Our children notice. Margaret Hagerman, a sociologist at Mississippi State University, told an interviewer last year, 'It would be great to see kids motivated by the Trump presidency, to join together and create a new era of civil rights. But I'm actually more worried about the opposite being true.' At recess, she said, some children were playing ICE agents and pretending to shoot kids playing immigrants. Others were taunting Latino children with chants of 'build a wall.' 'Listening to young children, ages 11, 12, and 13, express dehumanizing, racist ideas and think it's fine and normal — that's really concerning to me,' she said. During the 2016 presidential campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center said that Trump's platform was 'producing an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color and inflaming racial and ethnic tensions in the classroom. Many students worry about being deported. … Teachers have noted an increase in bullying, harassment, and intimidation of students whose races, religions, or nationalities have been the verbal targets of candidates on the campaign trail.' One in four students in America's K-12 classrooms are children of foreign-born parents. Southern Poverty Law Center education expert Marueen Costello quoted a middle-school teacher who said, 'My students are terrified of Donald Trump. They think that if he's elected, all black people will get sent back to Africa. … In North Carolina, a high school teacher says she has 'Latino students who carry their birth certificates and Social Security cards to school because they are afraid they will be deported.'' 'In state after state, teachers report similar fears among minority children,' Costello continued. 'The gains made by years of anti-bullying work in schools have been rolled back in a few short months.' Trump's policies are creating physical as well as psychological damage to children. Five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists warned they 'will have ramifications for the next generation, and many of these policy moves will disproportionately harm young children' — especially those in low-income families and non-white communities. Trump is setting children up for a dystopian future by allowing climate change to go unabated and allowing more pollutants that are ' particularly harmful to babies and children from before birth to age eight because their bodily systems are still developing…' Nelson Mandela said, 'There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.' Today, through his pollution and psychological influence on them, we are virtually letting Trump abuse ours. William S. Becker
Politico
3 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Elon Musk is threatening to put third-party candidates on the ballot. Democrats are giddy.
'My first reaction was, it seems pretty confined in substance,' Mayo said. 'And because of that, I think it pulls some of the following that he has that has sort of found its way into the Republican Party base.' Musk did not respond to a request for comment sent via email. Voters regularly overstate how likely they are to vote or join a third party. But recent polling suggests Americans are at least theoretically open to it. While nearly half of voters say they would consider joining a third party, only 17 percent are interested in joining a Musk-led option, according to polling from Quinnipiac University from earlier this month. But that party could pull disproportionately from the GOP, per the survey, which found that nearly three times as many Republicans as Democrats would consider joining Musk's proposed third party. Barrett Marson, a Republican political strategist in Arizona, cautioned that a libertarian-minded candidate backed by Musk could attract support from either direction, putting Democrats in battleground districts at risk too. 'If anyone can be a spoiler or at least put up a candidate who has a chance to in either direction, it's Elon Musk, because he has the drive and financial wherewithal to match it,' Marson said. Still, Musk's ability to successfully field third-party bids will be highly dependent on the particular districts he targets and the candidates he puts on the ballot, said Charlie Gerow, a Pennsylvania-based GOP operative. 'Elon Musk's money is enough to sway a significant number of elections,' Gerow said. 'But you have to look at the individual candidates and the message they run on. There's a lot of factors that will play into whether or not he's successful. I think at this stage it's hard to predict the outcome when we don't really know what he's going to do.' Even if Musk fails to get candidates on the ballot, his bad blood with Trump will be sorely felt by Republicans, who benefited massively from his largesse in 2024. Ultimately, Democrats are still confident the effort would more than likely play out to their benefit should it come to fruition, said Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey, who is gearing up for one of the most competitive Senate races next year. 'I think if something has Elon Musk's branding on it, that you're not going to attract Democrats, and you're not going to attract many independents,' Bailey said. 'I think if it's got Elon Musk branding, you're likely to attract the vast majority of right-wing Republicans, so I don't think those voters are probably that gettable for us anyway.'
Mint
4 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
‘It is not the critic who counts': White House portrays Donald Trump as ‘fighter', quotes Roosevelt amid Epstein fallout
The White House on Friday invoked former US President Theodore Roosevelt's iconic 1910 'Man in the Arena' speech to portray Donald Trump as a resilient leader standing in a Roman-style coliseum. Quoting the famous line, 'It is not the critic who counts...,' the post on X was paired with an image of Trump as a figure battling through criticism and challenges. This comes at a time when Donald Trump is looking to move past the Epstein scandal, which has seen him on rare unsure footing over claims his administration mishandled a review of the notorious case. On Friday, Trump again sought to put distance between himself and Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. US President Donald Trump blasted his supporters as 'weaklings' and 'past supporters' in a furious Truth Social post on Wednesday. He attacked conservatives demanding full release of Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, calling their efforts "bull——" and a Democratic 'SCAM'. Epstein, a onetime acquaintance of Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s, was associated with Hollywood celebrities, business titans and British royalty. Meanwhile, a notable majority of American voters are dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. According to a national poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, 63% of respondents disapproved of how the Trump administration has managed the probe into the infamous sex offender's case. Just 17% approved of the administration's actions in the Epstein matter, while said 20% they were undecided. A whopping 83% of Democrats also disapprove of the president's handling of the Epstein files, while 2% approve. In his heyday, Epstein was friends with Trump and others in the New York jet set, but the president is now facing backlash from his own MAGA supporters who demand access to the Epstein case files. (With inputs from agencies)
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientist reveals the stomach-churning truth about the chlorine smell in swimming pools
With the summer holidays now here, many Brits will be looking to pay a visit to the local pool or lido. But swimmers be warned - as public pools and water parks could be riddled with germs that can trigger a range of health issues, an expert has warned. It means a quick dip could spark a bout of diarrhoea, an itchy rash or a condition known as swimmer's ear - ruining summer plans. While you might be reassured by a strong smell of chlorine, the chemical doesn't work instantly and it doesn't kill everything, according to a microbiologist. 'On hot summer days, few things are more refreshing than a dip in the pool,' Lisa Cuchara, a professor of biomedical sciences at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, wrote on The Conversation. 'But have you ever wondered if the pool is as clean as that crystal blue water appears?' Professor Cuchara studies how germs spread in public spaces and said the 'ick-factor' of communal swimming spaces 'does have some merit'. So, will her warnings put you off your next planned swim? Over the last 25 years, swimming pools have been the most common setting for outbreaks of waterborne infectious intestinal disease in England and Wales, figures show. The biggest culprit is Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause a stomach bug which lasts up to two weeks. 'Even in a pool that's properly treated with chlorine, some pathogens can linger for minutes to days,' Professor Cuchara said. 'One of the most common culprits is Cryptosporidium, a microscopic germ that causes watery diarrhoea.' She said the germ spreads when faecal matter enters the water and is swallowed by another swimmer. Even a tiny amount, invisible to the naked eye, can infect dozens of people, she said. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria is another common germ that can cause issues such as hot tub rash - a skin infection that appears as a red, itchy bumpy rash that develops around hair follicles. It can also trigger swimmer's ear, an infection of the outer ear canal often caused by bacteria or fungi growing in the ear canal after water gets trapped there. Norovirus, commonly known as the stomach bug, and adenovirus, which typically causes cold or flu-like symptoms, can also linger in pool water and cause illness, she said. A strong chlorine smell could also be cause for concern. Substances such as sweat and urine - which are commonly found in pool water - interact with chlorine to form chemical by-products called chloramines that may pose health risks. 'These byproducts are responsible for that strong chlorine smell,' Professor Cuchara added. 'A clean pool should actually lack a strong chlorine odour. 'It's a common myth that a strong chlorine smell is a good sign of a clean pool. In fact, it may actually be a red flag that means the opposite - that the water is contaminated and should perhaps be avoided.' Tips to help prevent yourself falling ill include trying to keep water out of your mouth, showering after swimming and drying ears thoroughly.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Republicans Are Breaking With Trump Over Epstein Files, Polls Show
The Trump administration's recent decision to backtrack on releasing new details about the investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has prompted something exceedingly rare: Republican voters have begun to break with the president. Mr. Trump has long engendered unwavering loyalty from his followers, who tend to shrug off even his most extreme controversies. But recent public polling suggests even such fervent support may have a limit. While 40 percent of Republicans approve of Mr. Trump's handling of the release of the files on Mr. Epstein, more than a third of them — 36 percent — disapprove, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University. That is perhaps the most intraparty discontent Mr. Trump has experienced as president. Nearly two thirds of Americans overall disapprove of the Trump administration's handling of the case, according to the Quinnipiac poll. Indeed, the Epstein files have led to one of the most unified moments in recent political history. According to recent polling from CBS News and YouGov, nearly 90 percent of Americans — including 83 percent of Republicans — think the Department of Justice should release all the information it has regarding the case against Mr. Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on charges that he had sex-trafficked teenage girls. These polls were conducted largely before an article in The Wall Street Journal detailed a risqué drawing that Mr. Trump was said to have sent Mr. Epstein decades ago. That article seemed to quell an uprising within Mr. Trump's base over his handling of the files, as he tapped into his supporters' deep mistrust of the mainstream news media. There has been little high-quality polling since the article's publication to assess its impact. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
