- 3 minutes ago
As polling gets underway in the United States midterm elections, a panel discussion analyses voter sentiment, key economic pressures, and political fallout for Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Ipsos Public Affairs President Clifford Young highlights that soaring cost of living and inflation serve as dominant pain points for voters, noting that 'Americans are frustrated' and increasingly pessimistic about the sitting administration. Democratic leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria points out shifting allegiances among the Indian American community, citing rising living costs, visa obstacles, tariffs, and hate speech as reasons for a projected Democratic resurgence in Congress and the Senate. Meanwhile, Republican political candidate Poornima Nath discusses her public decision to pull support from Donald Trump and suspend her Hindus and Trump initiative, pointing out broader immigrant disillusionment with party rhetoric. The discussion also unpacks Trump's sudden policy announcement stopping four billion dollars in funding to Israel, potential congressional investigations, and the long-term ramifications for the 2028 presidential race.
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00:00And breaking news coming in now, even as Americans vote in the midterms,
00:05U.S. President Donald Trump has said he has made a deal with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
00:12that Washington would stop $4 billion in funding to Israel after the end of this year.
00:19Speaking to Fox News, Donald Trump said Israel no longer needed the funding
00:23and that some Democrats and left-wing politicians were using their U.S. financial support to Israel
00:29as a talking point to criticize Republicans.
00:33Geeta Mohan is joining us.
00:35Geeta, the voting is underway and this kind of statement coming in.
00:39How would you view it?
00:40Well, it does seem like there has been a lot of introspection in how Republicans have lost popularity,
00:48and that certainly also has to do with his decisions with regards to Israel.
00:53So, just ahead, while polling is on, in fact in India this would have been
00:59a policy decision that would have been a violation of the code of conduct,
01:04but that's not the case in America.
01:06He's made a policy decision announcement even while America is voting during the midterms.
01:12That's how critical his support for Israel or not has been these elections or these past few months,
01:19where a lot of them have been rather unhappy with the policy decisions on continuing the support to particularly Netanyahu
01:27and his administration.
01:29So, very important announcement just while America votes.
01:34So, are you sensing that, you know, among the four eyes that we have been discussing, Geeta,
01:39Iran war and inflation, the cost of living issue, will be some issue that will decide the balance of power
01:46this time around.
01:47That when America votes, when they are voting right now, Iran war will be a factor playing on their minds.
01:54Yeah, if you ask me to put them in order of precedence that the voters would take for the issues
02:03that you've specified,
02:05I think it will be inflation and then the Iran war because Americans don't focus on geopolitics the way you
02:12and I
02:12and the people in this part of the world, particularly the region, really do.
02:16So, inflation certainly is top of the agenda.
02:19Iran war and the impact it has had on the economy is yet another very important aspect.
02:27So, yes, Iran war in the sense how it has impacted people, but inflation, price rise, cost of living, you
02:34know,
02:34all that has really added up to the wars.
02:37Today, during the Ipsos poll numbers that we've seen, Donald Trump, I think, is at his almost near the lowest
02:47that he had in the past presidency.
02:52So, having about 32% popularity, that's really low for the US president.
02:59And he certainly is looking at what are the issues and look like Rohit, he'll be joining us in a
03:05while from now.
03:05And we were talking to him earlier.
03:07He said that for him to go to redneck states, for him to go to Republican bastions and to canvas
03:14really means that the Republicans are absolutely shaken.
03:18All right.
03:18Since you spoke about Rohit, he has joined us live from Washington, D.C.
03:22Rohit, how does it look on the ground?
03:26Well, you know, it does look as to what Geeta was saying earlier, just right now.
03:31I think it does look like a blue wave.
03:33No, just talking.
03:34Yeah, not recording.
03:37So, essentially, that's what it looks like.
03:40We'll have to wait and watch until the early results come in.
03:42If you look at the polling, it looks like the Democrats are going to win.
03:49You know, because the voting is still going on, and Donald Trump is known for springing up surprise.
03:58That's what, you know, we have seen in the past as well.
04:02Is there a possibility of a surprise, or will it be going with a larger mood?
04:07I want to hear, hello?
04:08What happened?
04:10All right.
04:11We'll try and connect with Rohit in just a bit again.
04:13But, Geeta, come in here.
04:15You know, most of the U.S. presidents have lost midterms, and that is something that we have seen for
04:23decades now, barring Joy W. Bush, who was perhaps an exception.
04:27Even if Donald Trump was to lose this, what changes in American politics?
04:34A lot will change, and a lot might not.
04:37One, Maria, I saw Rohit was, I think, at the gates of the White House.
04:42So, we'll just give him a moment.
04:43I think he's going through security, and they'll not allow him to talk right away.
04:47So, we'll wait for him to pass security, so we can connect with him again.
04:52Coming back to your question.
04:54What will change?
04:57The fact that the Congress, if he loses control of the Congress, the Congress will then have the powers, investigatorial
05:05powers,
05:06where they can actually seek investigation and probe into things that the administration has not really answered or shown accountability.
05:14Be it why the war, what of the war, what was the evidence that they had, so on and so
05:20forth.
05:21In fact, if anything, there was somebody I was talking to, Maria, and he said that more than Trump,
05:27it could be Pete Hexert who would be in trouble for the war against Iran, saying that, show the proof.
05:33What was the proof for you to go in to announce this?
05:36You did not announce a war.
05:38You just said that you're going ahead for American national security interests and concerns.
05:44So, officially, they did not declare a war, and that itself makes it very interesting as to how much money
05:50was spent in all this.
05:51So, a lot of investigations and probe.
05:53But on the other hand, look at the flip side.
05:56He does not lose all powers.
05:57That's not how America works.
05:59So, he will have presidential executive powers.
06:01He will use it, and the White House is already preparing on how will the White House work for the
06:09next two years.
06:10Should they lose Senate?
06:11Should they lose House?
06:12Should they lose both?
06:14How will they then perform?
06:16What are the executive orders?
06:17What can they do?
06:18What's the maneuverability?
06:20What's the legal room?
06:21They're already preparing for all of this and more.
06:24Okay.
06:24Geeta, join in in this conversation.
06:27We have Ajay Jain Patoria joining us.
06:30He's a Democrat.
06:31He's joining me from California.
06:33We also have Clifford Young, president of Ipsos Public Affairs, the United States.
06:40I'm going to begin with you, Clifford.
06:42What do you think is the dominant message that is emerging from the electorate so far?
06:49I think it's very clear.
06:51I think Americans are frustrated.
06:55They feel like they can't make ends meet.
06:58They're worried about cost of living.
07:00And they're, you know, it doesn't matter the poll, how you formulate the question.
07:06It doesn't matter the indicator that you look at across the board.
07:11Americans are very surly, very pessimistic, and frankly, quite angry with the city administration
07:18and Republicans.
07:20Okay.
07:21Geeta, you wish to comment?
07:22Clifford, thank you so much for doing this.
07:24I was looking at your poll numbers.
07:26We'll come to Ajay, you know, because Ajay will be all gleeful to see how Democrats have
07:31really performed.
07:32But before that, Clifford, to you, the Ipsos polls show a real dip in popularity for President
07:38Trump.
07:39The reasons are, and Maria asked me the question, I'll pose the same one to you.
07:43Is it inflation or is it, are the war's primary reason here?
07:50Well, it's a bit of everything, right?
07:52And Americans are frustrated across the board.
07:54But it's cost of living, cost of living, cost of living.
07:58The Iran conflict is very distant for people.
08:02But what impacts them is the price of gasoline.
08:05So it affects them indirectly.
08:07And what I would say is we have in some ways a double dip.
08:11You already had a waning presidency that was having difficulties delivering on what people
08:16wanted, they were frustrated.
08:18And then you have the Iran conflict and the price of gasoline and diesel has really reinforced
08:23the pessimism that I've already noted.
08:26So the price of gasoline almost doubling in a matter of few months.
08:30That's what we are looking at.
08:32So Ajay, is the cost of living here actually becoming Donald Trump's biggest vulnerability
08:38and have the Democrats managed to communicate it effectively to ensure that that becomes perhaps
08:46the weakest point for the U.S. president?
08:53I think so.
08:54I mean, today is going to be a historic night where the Democrats are going to win both the
08:58Congress and the Senate.
08:59We expect around 240 members of Congress in the new Congress from Democrats' side taking
09:05power and almost 52 to 48 in the Senate.
09:09We expect that Tellurico will win from Texas and we'll also have a senator going to flip
09:14the seat in Maine and Ohio and also Alaska in addition to winning Michigan and Georgia
09:21seat by John Ossoff and Abdul in Michigan.
09:24So those are going to be big wins.
09:26I mean, yes, of course, the people voted for Trump in the last election was to cut down
09:32the cost and also on the immigration, et cetera.
09:35He failed on both.
09:36I mean, the rising cost on the gas and the groceries, unaffordable health care, and people
09:42have to pay more at the doctors and they can afford.
09:44A lot of people have lost insurance against health insurance against this administration.
09:49And these are because of the Iran war and the tariffs.
09:52And these are made worse.
09:54I mean, when we look at the Indian American community, which has shifted largely from voting
10:00for the Trump in the last election to voting for Democrats this time, over 5.4 million Indian
10:05Americans, which from doctors, engineers, small business owners, they also feel the pain.
10:11The biggest pain they feel is the rise of the hate and hatredness, both online as well
10:18as now turning into physical violence against Indian Americans.
10:24Attempt in by of daily physical violence happening across the country.
10:28This has been has been coming out because of, you know, messages from Trump and his administration
10:34and his MAGA supporter.
10:36So that's one of the biggest reasons that Indian Americans who are voting for respect,
10:41who are voting for opportunity, who are tired of the gimmicks.
10:44And also the issue of immigration.
10:47And also the issue of immigration.
10:49Immigration, if you look at, if you look at, you know, tweets after tweets for 100,000
10:55fees on H-1B visa, 70,000 fee on OPT, those who have been blocked in the courts, canceling,
11:02trying to cancel that when you're terminated, you have zero days left to leave the country.
11:06That's inhuman.
11:07I mean, we, I, when I was in the administration, I put a policy recommendation, which would extend
11:13it to 180 days.
11:14I let the, in the Biden administration, H-1B stamping in U.S.
11:17Now people have to wait months and months, almost a year wait to get an appointment in
11:22U.S. embassy across the, in India or other countries.
11:25That's, you know, if someone reached out to me, his family, his father passed away, he had
11:30to go to India and now he cannot come back because there's no appointment and he will
11:34lose his job.
11:35His wife and kids are here.
11:36And there are plenty of those stories.
11:38I mean, so that's an inhuman treatment.
11:40And so definitely, I mean, when Democrats take it and then the last part is the U.S.
11:48Ajay, can I just read in here?
11:50And this question is for both of you, but Ajay, to you particularly, you know, all this
11:56that we're discussing today is no thanks to the Democratic Party or the Democrats.
12:02This is, I'm just playing devil's advocate here, Ajay.
12:06This is a negative vote for the Republicans rather than a positive one for the Democrats.
12:12So if the Democrats are gaining, it's not because they did something better or they did offer
12:19something better.
12:20It's because there is disappointment in what the Republicans or Trump administration has
12:26done.
12:26So I'm just saying that, you know, what are the Democratic faces that you're going to
12:30take to the presidential elections?
12:33Who are the big faces and names?
12:35What are the deliverables, Ajay?
12:37And I'll take the same question to Clifford.
12:40That's true.
12:41I mean, part of it is that people are upset with the Republicans.
12:44But part of it is also that for this time, the Democrats got the messaging correct.
12:50They were able to understand what people's pain point are and they were able to get their
12:53messaging correct on economy, affordability, immigration.
12:56A Democratic Congress means a steadier, more predictable Congress, whether it's around
13:04tariffs or around war, there will be no chaos.
13:08The policy will be not done through tweets.
13:10After tweets, one tweet today, there's a 50% tariff on India.
13:14Another tweet today, 100% tariff on India because of buying Russian oil.
13:18And then they buy back Russian oil, this administration, to feed its voters.
13:25It will be a stable government based on the trade law and policy.
13:29It can push back onto the administration and demand a fair deal, whether it's for India
13:36or for other partners.
13:37Democrats can use oversight, hearings and legislation to question against tariffs, against wars, against
13:44price rise and all of the policies which they are.
13:46Of course, the president will have its power to veto.
13:48Pundima Nath, who's a Republican, also joins us on this broadcast.
13:53But Clifford, respond to what Geeta is saying, that this clearly is a negative vote.
13:59It's not that the Democrats were able to build an alternative narrative.
14:05They are, if they do well, then it will be purely on the voters being dissatisfied with
14:12President Trump and his policies and decisions.
14:15Absolutely.
14:16I can do something.
14:17First of all, thank you so much.
14:18Pundima, just a moment.
14:20Just a moment.
14:21Let Clifford respond to that and then we'll come to you.
14:24Yeah, midterms are always the referendum on the presidency.
14:28And so they've always been like that.
14:30And we have to understand it as such.
14:32And we layer over a very negative environment, as we've talked about.
14:37Americans are very pessimistic.
14:39And we'll take that out on the president and Republicans today.
14:43That said, I agree with AJ as well that the Democrats have been very disciplined in their
14:49messaging.
14:50They've talked about economic populist issues.
14:53They've talked about cost of living.
14:55They've talked about inflation.
14:57Those are critical issues for the average American.
15:00Sometimes Democrats don't do a very good job of that, but they've done a good job this electoral
15:04cycle.
15:04And the last point I would make is midterms will show the talent that's there.
15:10And so after the midterms are over and when we see who's won on the Democratic side, we'll
15:15have a new crop of talent that could potentially be in the queue, in the line for the presidency
15:23and for 2028.
15:26So overall, I would say the Democrats have done a good job taking advantage of a very negative
15:32scenario for the Republicans.
15:34Gita, go ahead with Purnima.
15:36All right.
15:36Purnima, you know, we've said this, that it is a negative vote for the Republican Party,
15:42but it is also, like Clifford said, has been the case, and like Maria was explaining to
15:48our viewers, has been the case.
15:49Midterms is rarely a case where a sitting incumbent president really wins or his party really wins.
15:58What do you think you're going to bring to the table should the Republicans lose the
16:03House?
16:06First of all, thank you so much for having me.
16:08Namaste, Jahind.
16:10Wonderful discussion.
16:11I have to tell you a couple of things.
16:13I'm a Republican and I've ran as a Republican.
16:16I'm a Republican political candidate.
16:19However, last night I posted a press release from my side, from my desk.
16:24I've taken out all my support for President Trump and Trump endorsed candidates.
16:28And also, I have suspended the Hindus and Trump initiative that I've started quite a few years
16:34ago.
16:36When you say the midterms, President Trump has positioned himself as if the midterm is like
16:43any other midterm, where the ruling party doesn't really get the popular votes or things
16:52like that.
16:53Unfortunately, this is not the case.
16:55This midterm is extremely, extremely critical for this country.
17:01What President Trump has done in the last two years has been absolutely a disaster.
17:06And to tell you the truth, that if somebody says the Democrats were actually goody goodies,
17:11they were best people like us who were actually immigrants to this country, they wouldn't have
17:18chosen ever a Republican party.
17:21Because most of the people, when I became Republican, they started calling me, you are wrong.
17:26You are in the wrong party.
17:27They are going to throw you out.
17:28And that's exactly what has happened.
17:29Because Republican party has become...
17:32This is big.
17:32Purnima, this is really big.
17:33Yes.
17:34Are you telling me that you actually are quitting the party?
17:39You have withdrawn support to President Trump.
17:43You are no longer or you no longer want to be associated with Republicans.
17:48And is that a sense that I get is, is that what most of the Indian Americans are thinking
17:54or how most of the Indian Americans are thinking?
17:58I'll tell you what is happening.
18:00I'm a Republican because of the Republicans, why Republican Party actually started.
18:06Lincoln, President Lincoln, you very well know about him.
18:11And he's actually one, the one actually abolished slavery in this country.
18:18After he was shot and killed, the Republican Party switched.
18:23And that's something that I couldn't understand why they switched.
18:26And why the slavery, the segregation, the Jim Crow laws came.
18:32Purnima, we just have 30 seconds on this show.
18:35So, you know, Gita has asked a direct question.
18:38Is that the larger sentiment among Indian Americans today as U.S. is voting?
18:47As Donald Trump has let them down?
18:50Many like you.
18:51And that's what I have a sense of sense.
18:54I'm still Republican.
18:55I'm still a center-right, the Lincoln Republican.
18:59But most of the Indian Americans who are actually traditionally Democrats, they're going back to Democrat Party.
19:06And this is absolutely the sentiment I see.
19:08But for me, I'm not going back to the Democrat Party because this is not why I came to Republicans.
19:13So I stay who I am.
19:14I'll stay on with the principle.
19:16But I'm fighting within the party because of their shifts and because of their treatment.
19:22I think that largely sums up the mood there.
19:26So Ajay, Purnima and Clifford, really appreciate your time.
19:28And before we wrap up this conversation, a word from Gita.
19:33Gita, we were showing the picture of Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump.
19:37Is she really the person taking on?
19:41Can she be the challenger?
19:42I don't think she can be the challenger.
19:45Like Clifford said, the next presidential race will have two fresh faces because both parties are going to go into
19:52primaries.
19:53And Kamala Harris will have a very, very tough time should she decide to enter the primary.
19:58So let's just wait and see what really happens.
20:01We know for sure one thing, if the Constitution remains the same, Trump is not returning.
20:07Okay, so that's becoming clear.
20:09And Gita and I will be back at 7 a.m. for a special broadcast on U.S. midterm elections.
20:14So stay tuned.
20:15Thanks so much for watching.