Guardian analysis shows how tumbling approval ratings may have hurt candidates backed by US president

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Dozens of Republican candidates directly endorsed by Donald Trump lost their US midterm election races, according to analysis by the Guardian, raising questions over the power of the president’s support.

In past elections, Trump’s endorsements have been coveted. In the final stages of this year’s campaign, he actively urged voters to act as though he were on the ballot.

US president rhapsodized about ballroom features for more than 20 minutes, with no mention of Democrats’ ‘blue wave’

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Less than 24 hours after suffering historic party losses in the US midterm elections, Donald Trump gathered reporters and network TV cameras at the White House to congratulate his team.

“The whole thing is a miracle, and it’s all because of you,” the US president said into a microphone on Wednesday afternoon.

Republicans suffer historic losses, Democrats win control of Congress – and Trump backs away from losing candidates

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Democrats have swept key US midterm races, flipping long-held Republican seats and securing a majority in Congress as voters rebuked Donald Trump’s policies at the ballot box.

In an unexpected performance, Democrats defeated incumbent Republicans candidates for historically conservative Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

After campaign blitz and urging voters to pretend he was on the ballot, president claims Republicans ‘would have won in a landslide’ if he had been

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Donald Trump, who spent months urging supporters to pretend he was on the ballot, declared on Tuesday night he “wasn’t on the ballot” as Democrats scored a string of victories over his Republican party in the US midterm elections.

As a blue wave appeared to take hold across the country, the US president said he was prepared to accept the results.

US president shares delayed results of chaotic renovation on DC site as Americans prepare to head to the polls

Donald Trump unveiled the delayed results of his $14m renovation of Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in what is expected to be his final press conference before voters head to the polls for the midterm elections.

On the eve of a consequential election day, with polls indicating that most voters feel the US president has grown too focused on building projects in the nation’s capital, he stood in front of the newly opened reflecting pool to discuss – in detail – changes to the pool’s pipe, the grass surrounding the area and granite.

But select Democrats, too, are being accused of having ties to the late sex offender as country prepares to vote

In races across the country, Democratic candidates or groups that support them have released ads accusing Republicans of protecting pedophiles by voting against legislation to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The ads appear intended to evoke an emotional response by accusing candidates of “protecting” Epstein, a notorious pedophile accused of running a sex-trafficking ring involving minors.

Even with a multimillion-dollar war chest, the US representative faces a stiff fight for his seat from Democrat Rebecca Bennett

The stars above New Jersey seemed aligned for Tom Kean Jr.

The Republican congressman had a war chest of more than $2.4m in February, an endorsement from Donald Trump and a district whose lines were redrawn in 2022 to benefit his party. He was an established political figure with widespread name recognition, thanks to his father’s stint as a well-regarded governor of New Jersey.

US constitution unequivocally states that he can’t campaign again, which the president also seems to acknowledge

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Donald Trump joked with rally-goers on Thursday evening that he had “the right to run again” for president, invoking a claim he has repeatedly made that he may seek a third term despite it being unconstitutional.

“I don’t know who is going to be your next president and I think the law said, I’m not 100% sure, but I think the law says I’m not allowed to run again,” Trump said in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Pentagon’s Active Denial System shoots energy beam that causes ‘sensation of intense heat on surface of skin’

Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, reportedly signed a memo last month permitting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to test a non-lethal “heat ray” for potential use at the US southern border.

The “heat ray”, known as the Active Denial System, is a military-grade weapon that shoots an energy beam causing “a sensation of intense heat on the surface of the skin”, according to a 2009 National Defense University case study on the weapon.

Voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of economy and cost of living, says poll in new low recorded by NY Times/Siena

Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to 36% just two weeks before the midterm elections, the lowest recorded in a poll by the New York Times/Siena College, with most respondents expressing frustration over his handling of the US economy, cost of living and Iran war.

In an October survey of approximately 3,494 likely voters, 59% said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of his job, and 52% said they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate in the upcoming election.

GOP lawmakers threaten to pull support for president’s agenda after Russia diesel deal and sanctions pause

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A handful of Republicans have spoken out against Donald Trump’s softening stance on Russia, threatening to pull financial support for his agenda over his “embarrassing” handling of the Ukraine war.

Don Bacon, an outgoing congressman in Nebraska, condemned Trump’s actions – which include a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel and the pausing of sanctions on Moscow – as “absolutely disgraceful” and accused the US president of cozying up to a “war criminal” in Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart.

Her abrupt firing after just five days reopened the contest for one of the Trump administration’s most prominent roles

The White House is without a press secretary again after the ousting of Katie Zacharia, just five days into her appointment as Donald Trump’s spokesperson.

Zacharia’s departure comes just months after Karoline Leavitt unexpectedly resigned as the White House press secretary to focus on her family.

Zacharia hosted widely panned first briefing on Tuesday and faced scrutiny after admitting she didn’t pass bar exam

Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired on Friday, just five days after she assumed the role, according to a White House official.

Zacharia confirmed her departure from the White House on Friday evening.

Katie Zacharia had a rough start as she fumbled first press conference and faced questions from media about her professional background

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Donald Trump has urged Katie Zacharia, his new White House press secretary, to “reconsider” taking the job after she faced intense scrutiny from news outlets, including the rightwing cable network Fox News.

Speaking with reporters outside the White House on Friday, the US president said Zacharia had been “treated very badly by the media” after she stumbled through a 14-minute press conference on Tuesday and questions arose over her legal credentials.

Mamdani and city council leader agree on ban that would make it illegal to operate horse-drawn carriages in the city

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the leader of the New York City council have agreed to ban horse-drawn carriages from the city, a popular tourist attraction that has faced widespread scrutiny.

Mamdani has agreed to back a bill supported by Julie Menin, the speaker of the New York city council, that would make it illegal to operate horse-drawn carriages beginning in June 2028, Politico reported on Tuesday. The city council is expected to vote on the legislation next week.

Zacharia will replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the role at the end of August after giving birth to her second child

Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had picked Katie Zacharia to be the next White House press secretary, lining up a conservative commentator he called a “devoted fan” to be his most prominent spokesperson.

Zacharia will replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the role at the end of August after the birth to her second child.

Pentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live

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The US is facing worldwide condemnation over a “barbaric” plan to execute a disabled man by firing squad and livestream it to the public, with critics comparing the Trump administration to dictatorships in Iran and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, would be livestreamed on 3 December.

Trump administration says US ‘doesn’t need’ ICC after accusing court of unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges

The United States was accused of launching “an assault” on the world’s legal order after imposing more sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC).

Unveiling the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the court, which it has accused of politicization and unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, declared: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

President floats firing Chris LaCivita and James Blair over any ‘conflict’ after reports of work in Republika Srpska

Donald Trump distanced himself from two top advisers on Wednesday, claiming he did not have “any idea who else they work for”, after it was reported they spent the weekend assisting a pro-Russia government in the Balkans.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that Chris LaCivita, the co-manager of his 2024 presidential campaign, and James Blair, a campaign adviser and White House deputy chief of staff on leave of absence, “are outside consultants” and “do not work for me other than as outside consultants”.

Clayton had said AI was a ‘gamechanger’ but also posed ‘a threat’ during his confirmation hearing

Donald Trump on Sunday named Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, to also serve as the new White House AI czar.

Clayton, who leads the US’s 18 intelligence agencies, previously served as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and led the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term.