Latest / The Breakfast Club / Trump Blamed for GOP Midterm Troubles, $4 Billion in Israel Aid on the Line, and Michigan Democrat Sparks Party Backlash

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Trump Blamed for GOP Midterm Troubles, $4 Billion in Israel Aid on the Line, and Michigan Democrat Sparks Party Backlash · The Breakfast Club

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: President Trump could be facing a major political reckoning, and
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: one analysis says he has.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: No one to blame but himself.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Plus, Trump announces a major change in the USA to Israel,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: but there's a catch. And a Michigan Democrat turns against
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: her own party, and she's not backing down. It's Wednesday,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: November 4th.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Amy Brown. This
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: is Front Page, and here are the day's biggest stories.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Stay with me.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: We start with the question that was on everyone's mind
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: on Election Day, the question facing Republicans. If the party
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: suffers major losses, how much of the blame falls on
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: President Trump? One political analysis argued Trump has become his
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: own party's biggest problem.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: And here's why.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Trump won the White House in 2024 with support from
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: a broad coalition of voters, including Black voters, Hispanic voters,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: and young people. But the analysis argues that instead of
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: building that support, Trump has spent the past two years
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: pushing policies that have turned some of those voters away.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Start with the economy. Trump promised to bring prices down. Instead,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Americans are paying more at the gas pump. Tariffs have
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: raised costs for businesses and consumers. And the war with
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Iran has driven fuel costs even higher. And then there's immigration.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Trump made border security a centerpiece of his campaign. But
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: his administration's aggressive immigration enforcement... including ICE operations in workplace
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: and in communities, has sparked backlash. And the analysis argues
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Trump hasn't just hurt Republicans with his policies, he's also
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: made some.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Questionable political decisions.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: He's pushed Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts to help
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: his party win more seats. Democrats responded by doing the
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: same in states they control. He's gotten involved in Republican primaries,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: pushed out some of the incumbents, and backed candidates who
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: may have a harder time winning general elections. And here's
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: another problem for Republicans. The analysis argues that beyond supporting Trump,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: the party hasn't presented voters with a clear plan for
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: what it wants to accomplish over the next two years. Instead,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Trump has spent his time focused on projects in Washington,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: including renovations and changes to federal landmarks, while voters remain
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: concerned about the cost of living. And just weeks before
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Election Day, Trump floated the idea of giving American adults
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: $ 5, 000 if Republicans keep control of Congress. That proposal even
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: caught Republican leaders by surprise. But the argument is that
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: if Republicans face major losses, Trump can't simply blame candidates,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Democrats or Senate Republican leadership. The president's own ideas helped
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: put his party in this position. And as the votes
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: continue to be counted, we'll see whether voters deliver that
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: kind of political message Republicans have been worried about. And
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: the president says the U.S. will stop sending billions of
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: dollars in aid to Israel. That's a major announcement considering
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Israel has been one of the largest recipients of American
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: foreign aid for decades. Trump says he reached a deal
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago to end
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: that funding this year. Speaking on Fox & Friends, Trump
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: said Israel has become a successful country and no longer
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: needs American taxpayers footing the bill. The U.S. currently provides
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Israel with about $ 3. 8 billion a year in military assistance.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: But here's where things get interesting. It's not clear whether
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: that money is actually going away. Some Trump supporters say
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: the funding could instead be redirected into joint military and
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: technology projects between the two countries. Critics argue that would
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: mean American taxpayers are still paying just through a different program.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: And Congress would have a say because lawmakers authorize U.S.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: Foreign aid.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: The timing is also raising questions. Trump made the announcement
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: on Election Day when voters are concerned about affordability. and
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: how Washington spends their tax dollars. And the issue has
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: become especially controversial in Michigan, where U.S. support for Israel
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: has divided voters in a closely watched Senate race. Democratic
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: candidate Abdul El-Sayed has criticized Israel, and Trump brought him
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: up during the interview. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has previously said he
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: wanted Israel to stop relying on American military aid, but
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: proposed doing that gradually over the next 10 years. Now
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: Trump said it could happen this year. But neither the
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: White House nor the Israeli embassy provided details confirming how
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: the agreement would work. So for now, the big question
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: is whether American taxpayers will actually save billions of dollars
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: or whether that money will simply be spent another way.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: And in Michigan, a Democratic congresswoman is standing by her
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: decision to support a Republican running for U.S. Senate, even
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: after facing major backlash from her own party. Congresswoman Haley
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. And
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: when News Nation asked whether that endorsement was worth all
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: the criticism, Stevens didn't hesitate.
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  Speaker 2: She said, absolutely. Now, here's how we got here.
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  Speaker 1: Stevens and El-Sayed were opponents in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary.
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed won and Stevens initially supported him. But their relationship
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: fell apart over an advertisement from an outside progressive group
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: that blamed Israel for rising gas prices. Stevens demanded El-Sayed
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: apologize for the ad. Instead, El-Sayed removed her from his
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  Speaker 1: campaign events, including a planned appearance at a Detroit church
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: with Congressman Jim Clyburn. The very next day, Stevens showed
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: up at a church alongside Republican Mike Rogers, and that
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: set off a political firestorm. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: accused Stevens of making a terrible decision and blindsiding her colleagues.
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  Speaker 1: The chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party went even further,
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  Speaker 1: saying Stevens was no longer a member of the party.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Some of her own staff members even resigned. But Stevens
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: says she still wants Democrats to take control of the
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: House and Jeffries to become speaker, so she's supporting a
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Republican for Senate while hoping Democrats win the House. And
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: here's what's interesting. Despite the controversy, a New York Times-Siena
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: poll released just days before Election Day showed El-Sayed leading
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Rodgers by 11 points. So it's unclear whether Stevens' endorsement
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: will make much of a difference in the race. But
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: this controversy raises a bigger question about divisions within the
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Democratic Party, especially over Israel, and what happens when those
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: disagreements spill over into a general election.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: That's your Front Page. I'm Mimi Brown.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: This podcast was brought to you by the Black Effect
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Podcast Network.