Americans are deeply skeptical of president Donald Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, though he is shoring up support among his core Republican followers who have long focused on the case, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The poll, completed on Monday, found that most Americans believe Trump’s administration is covering up information about the late sex offender, including his 2019 death and his ties to rich and powerful people, and do not believe Trump’s claim that he was unaware of Epstein’s alleged trafficking of teenage girls when the two were friends decades ago.
Only 23% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the ongoing scandal, the poll found, while 52% disapprove. However, the poll found he appears to be easing the concerns of his supporters: 53% of Republicans said they approved of the way he was handling the issue, up from 44% last month. That is still well below the 85% approval rating Trump enjoys overall among Republicans.
Shares of cannabis companies have jumped after reports that Donald Trump is expected to push the government to dramatically loosen federal restrictions on marijuana, Reuters reports.
US-listed shares of cannabis-pharmaceutical company Tilray Brands gained 28%, while other cannabis-focused companies SNDL, Canopy Growth and ETF AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis were up between 13.5% and 32.5% in premarket trading.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Trump plans to direct agencies to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, reducing oversight of the plant and its derivatives to the same level as some common prescription painkillers and other drugs.
“We believe this would open the door for pharmaceutical companies to seek approval for more cannabis products, which could then be dispensed the same as other prescription drugs,” TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg said in a note.
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has spoken about US aid cuts that he says have led to “lots of deaths” in developing countries.
Speaking to Politico, Gates said: “Nobody wants to take responsibility for the tragedy that’s going on here. In my dialogue with President Trump, he clearly cares about these issues and wants to find a generous level for the spending so that the US won’t be responsible for these big increases.
“So I’m hopeful that what we’ve seen this year, where there were sudden and massive cuts — you just can’t deny that’s led to lots of deaths.”
The wide-ranging interview also took in Gates and US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr agreeing that they would not share a “common view” over vaccines, as well as comments on the rise of AI: “We should all be in a state of wonder. Even this last month, the improvements are amazing to me. I spend a significant amount of time looking at how we should use it,” Gates said.
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With Democrats just a few seats shy of reclaiming the House majority, Republicans are watching developments with a growing sense of unease and frustration that the dynamics of Donald Trump’s first midterm — when Democrats scored a net gain of 40 seats in 2018 — are at risk of repeating, AP reports.
“If you’re not concerned, then you’re living in a cave,” Republican senator Jim Justice told reporters. “If you’re not watching the elections that are happening all the time, then you’re living in a cave. We’re not good at our messaging a lot of times as Republicans. The Democrats are professionals at it. We’re not good at it.”
The latest setbacks came this week when a Democrat won the Miami mayor’s race for the first time in three decades. Democrats also won a special election in a historically Republican district in Georgia. Latest polling shows Trump’s approval ratings are down since March (see 10.52).
Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, recently told a podcast that Trump will campaign aggressively next year and the party will effectively “put him on the ballot.” But the challenge of that strategy was on display this week when a trip to Pennsylvania intended to focus on combating inflation was instead overshadowed by grievances about immigrants from “filthy” countries.
“We have a lot of work to do and a lot of it’s going to depend at the national level in particular on what Republicans do to affect the affordability issues,” said Republican state senator John Braun. “People are interested in many things, a wide range of issues. But top of mind right now is how do I support myself, my family in the current environment? We’re going to have to do the right things over the next 11 months.”
Kosovo has started accepting migrants deported from the US and who are not originally from Kosovo, caretaker prime minister Albin Kurti said late on Thursday, Reuters reports.
Kosovo agreed to a request from Donald Trump’s administration to initially take in 50 deportees.
“We are accepting those that the US did not want on their territory,” Kurti told Kanal10 television.
He gave no details on which countries they were from, and said only one or two have arrived so far.
Washington is looking for partners to receive third-party nationals as it seeks to deliver on Trump’s promise of record-level deportations.
Kosovo, a Balkan country of 1.6 million people, already has a deal in place to receive 300 foreign prisoners from Denmark from 2027 in return for €210m (£184m) over the next decade, and has expressed interest in receiving deportees from the UK.
Approval ratings of Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration are down about 10 points since March, according to the latest polling by AP-NORC.
In March 2025, a few months into Trump’s second term, his overall job approval was 42%. Similar shares approved of how he was handling of the economy (40%) and immigration (49%). Since then, fewer adults have a positive view of how Trump is handling his job overall (36%), the economy (31%), and immigration (38%).
There continue to be stark partisan divisions in how Trump’s job performance is viewed by the public, the pollsters found. Overall, 6 in 10 have a negative opinion, including about 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 independents. Conversely, 8 in 10 Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency.
Border security remains his best issue on the poll with 50% approval, including getting positive marks from nearly all Republicans, 19% of Democrats, and 36% of independents.
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Striking an uncharacteristically bipartisan tone, the US president, Donald Trump, said that Republicans and Democrats could work together on healthcare, as insurance premiums look likely to soar in January.
Speaking at last night’s Congressional ball, Trump said: “I really believe we can work on healthcare together and come up with something that’s going to be much better, much less expensive for the people, less expensive for our nation. But really, most importantly, better and less expensive for the people.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Senate rejected competing proposals by Republicans and Democrats to address a looming healthcare crisis, which could leave 24 million Americans vulnerable to significantly higher costs from 1 January, when insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, are on course to more than double.
Congress will begin an end-of-year holiday recess next week and not return until 5 January, which leaves it looking like new premiums will be locked in for those who had relied on the ACA enhanced subsidy.
“So tonight, we’re going to set aside all political differences. We’re not going to criticise each other,” Trump said. “We’re going to love each other. And we’re going to come together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as fellow Americans, to give thanks for this nation, which is so great indeed.”
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