Jonathan Freedland, a columnist at the Guardian, argues that President Donald Trump is acting as if he either wants the Republican Party to lose upcoming midterm elections or is indifferent to the possibility. Freedland writes that this is not an entirely far-fetched theory, given decisions that appear to amount to deliberate harm to Republican electoral prospects.
Freedland points to Trump's confrontation with Iran, which has raised fuel and food prices and increased the cost of U.S. government borrowing in ways that could raise credit card and mortgage rates as voters go to the polls. He also cites Trump's trade conflict with Canada, which prompted Ottawa to impose retaliatory tariffs on states including Michigan, Ohio, Maine, Texas and Iowa—states where critical Senate races are underway. Republican candidates in these states must now explain to voters why key export markets have been lost.
Trump's support for data centers despite widespread public opposition also damages Republican prospects, Freedland argues. The columnist notes that Trump not only contradicted the majority of voters on the issue but insulted them, calling communities that reject data centers "backward and poor." Freedland also cites Trump's personal projects, including demolishing the White House East Wing for a banquet hall and placing his signature on dollar bills, which he says most Americans oppose.
Freedland writes that Trump may not fear a Republican defeat because he believes Congress lacks the practical means to compel his compliance and that Senate Republicans will not vote to remove him regardless of charges. He draws on "System Change," a book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, which suggests Trump could present a major Republican loss as evidence that the party cannot win without his name on the ballot. Trump's narcissism might lead him to read his party's defeat as proof that Republicans cannot win without him rather than as a rejection of his policies.
The Independent reports on research linking U.S. aid cuts to deaths in Afghanistan. Researchers from the International Rescue Committee documented at least 161 deaths over the past 18 months connected to disruptions following the aid reduction, with half of the deaths women who died during pregnancy or childbirth and 30 deaths among newborns and fetuses. Researcher Priyali Dey Sur interviewed some 550 health workers, including midwives, and documented accounts of closed health centers and broken ventilators, incubators and oxygen stations due to halted funding and maintenance.
The Trump administration abruptly ended aid to Afghanistan exceeding $1.7 billion as part of efforts to dismantle the foreign aid program and close the U.S. Agency for International Development. Afghanistan's public health ministry said the halt in safe delivery services at U.S.-supported centers affects roughly 350 births monthly. When challenged to name someone who died because of the cuts, Sur invoked a pregnant woman who died while being transported to a regional hospital: "Her name was Halima." The U.S. State Department did not comment on the Independent's report.
