US midterms: There’s a sense of dread about America’s future – and we should all worry
America’s midterms don’t normally grip us. Wake us up when you choose another president.
But these should, and for all the wrong reasons. Anyone who has covered a few of them knows they are very different this year.
The mood is dark in America. There is a sense of dread about the future. And if Americans are fearful, we should be too. The reverse Vegas rule applies here. What happens in America does not stay in America.
Those who thought the Donald Trump years were an aberration are in for a shock. Look at the candidates.
Almost 300 were endorsed by Mr Trump. Two-hundred of them have peddled his anti-democratic lie that he won the last election or its results were seriously flawed.
Some are Q Anon supporters to boot, subscribing to a movement that believes a cabal of paedophiles runs the US government.
Donald Trump is expected to declare his candidacy soon after these midterms. Looking at the polls, his second coming looks increasingly likely, with all that means for the world that we live in.
An atmosphere of fear
The atmosphere out on the campaign trail is one of fear, among voters who tell you this great country, an ally, and inspiration for all the free world is, to put it bluntly, on the brink.
It’s not just the fear of the other side winning. It is more powerful, more visceral than that.
Democrats are terrified that US democracy is about to be subverted. People who claim the electoral system is rigged are running for key positions that will give them power over that system. And Democrats fear they’ll use that power next time to twist votes in their favour.
A president who we now know seriously considered seizing voting machines and tried to bully officials to overturn the outcome of a free and fair election may be the frontrunner to win back the White House next time.
Think about that.
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Could the ‘red wave’ hit New York?
America tearing itself apart
If he fails to do so fairly next time he will now have allies in place as governors or state officials who could help him do so in other ways, should they win as seems likely in this week’s votes.
But Republican voters are equally passionate in their fear the country is being taken in the wrong direction by elites that are unaware how much the ordinary American is hurting.
Voters of all stripes fear recession, inflation, crime and rising costs, and see a government not doing enough to help.
But the fear is more existential than that. America, the country and idea, voters will tell you, is under threat and tearing itself apart.
Americans have stopped doing what they have always done best, talking to themselves and listening. They have retreated to opposing camps, losing themselves in echo chambers on the left and right.
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How a lie consumed a nation
‘It’s on the brink of disaster’
One mother in a town in New York state summed it up like this: “It’s divided and angry and hostile and corrupt, and it’s on the brink of disaster, I think.
“I think it’s incredibly discouraging. People believe what they want to believe and there’s no changing minds, and I don’t know how we’ll ever turn back from it either.”
She was no conspiracy theorist, just a middle class mother picking up pizza for her children.
Visit the US nowadays, and friends will tell you they believe violence or unrest is on its way.
Sober-minded reasonable people talk in all honesty of a reckoning, unrest and even civil war.
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In better days, the midterm elections were a carnival of democracy.
From the highest governor down to the town dog catcher, the people get to choose who runs their lives in a system they’ve been told since childhood is the best form of government the world has ever known.
But there is no sense of celebration this time.
The mood has soured. Entrenched in polarised corners, Americans are suspicious of each other’s intentions and full of foreboding about what comes next. That should have all of us worried.
President Joe Biden has invited Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House today.
This is what we expect is likely to happen.
Guest List
The meeting takes place at 11am local time (4pm UK time). It’s unclear whether they’ll be joined by anyone else for the “meet and greet”.
The final plans are still fluid but, as of last night, vice president Kamala Harris wasn’t expected to attend and JD Vance, the vice president-elect, hadn’t received an invitation from her.
The future first lady, Melania Trump, has been invited to accompany her husband on the visit but it’s thought unlikely she will attend. She did make the visit in 2016 and had tea in the Yellow Oval Room with the then first lady Michelle Obama.
It’s unclear whether the current first lady, Dr Jill Biden, will participate, although she is scheduled to be at the White House.
Enemies Reunited
The Oval Office meeting will be the first between Mr Biden and Mr Trump since the pair shared a TV debate stage in Atlanta last June. It was the night Mr Biden’s gaffes cost him the candidacy.
On that occasion, there was no handshake between the two old enemies and the mood darkened as the verbal sparring began.
“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” said Mr Trump. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Mr Biden said of Mr Trump: “You’re the sucker, you’re the loser.”
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It was the language of loathing that has long characterised the pair’s interactions. In the past, Mr Biden has called Mr Trump a “threat to this nation”, and Mr Trump has called Mr Biden “stupid”, and a “low-IQ individual”.
And remember, Mr Trump has threatened to pursue retribution against Mr Biden, stating he would hire a “real special prosecutor” to go after him.
On this historic occasion, expect the coldest handshake in American history.
Precedent
Former president Barack Obama invited then president-elect Trump to meet at the White House two days after the 2016 election.
The sit-down in the Oval Office lasted approximately 90 minutes and Mr Obama called it “an excellent conversation” that was “wide-ranging”.
Then vice-president Biden met with then VP-elect Mike Pence during that time as well.
Six days later, the Bidens hosted the Pences at their home.
Mr Trump did not invite Mr Biden for a 2020 visit to the White House, while refusing to concede the election.
In snubbing Mr Biden, Mr Trump bucked a presidential tradition that had gone back decades.
Former president George W Bush hosted Mr Obama in 2008 and Laura Bush hosted Michelle Obama, while former president Bill Clinton hosted Mr Bush in 2000.
What will Mr Biden and Mr Trump discuss?
There is no published agenda but there’s every chance we’ll hear it first hand from either, or both. TV cameras will film the event and both men will have the opportunity to take questions.
Following his 2016 meeting with Mr Trump, then president Barack Obama said: “We talked about some of the organisational issues in setting up the White House. We talked about foreign policy.
“We talked about domestic policy and, as I said last night, my number-one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful.”
It is a familiarisation meeting, as much as anything else. Senior staffers, on both sides, will also meet their counterparts.
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What’s in it for them?
For both men, this meeting symbolises an orderly transition of power.
Presidents, outgoing and incoming, working for the good of the country. It works for Mr Trump because why wouldn’t it? He won decisively and will survey the spoils.
It works for Mr Biden because a peaceful transition represents everything that, for him, Mr Trump doesn’t: respect for the office, respect for the people and respect for democracy.
As much as this meeting is wrapped up in the politeness of protocol, it has hard politics at its heart.
Donald Trump has confirmed Elon Musk will co-lead the new department of government efficiency.
The president-elect said on Tuesday that the Tesla and X owner – who is also the world’s richest man – will work with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the department, which is known as DOGE for short.
The appointment fulfils a promise Mr Trump made to the tech billionaire after he endorsed him in the race for the White House, and poured more than $119m (£92m) canvassing for him in the seven battleground states.
In a statement, the president-elect said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk in Butler, Pennsylvania. Pic: AP
Despite its name, the DOGE is not a government agency and is instead set to provide “advice and guidance” from the outside of government.
The statement released by Mr Trump said it will partner with the office of management and budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”.
This will likely mean both Mr Musk and biotech entrepreneur Mr Ramaswamy will be allowed to continue working in the private sector and serve without Senate approval, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported, as they would technically not be federal workers.
Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the department with Mr Musk. Pic: AP
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work.
After being elected president in 2016, Mr Trump handed over control of his business empire to his sons in order to try and avoid a conflict of interest. The move was later criticised by the director of the office of government ethics that it did not go far enough and Mr Trump “still [knew] what he owned”.
‘More efficiency and less bureaucracy’
A deadline of 4 July 2026 has been put in place for the new DOGE to conclude its work.
The DOGE acronym coincides with a popular meme and the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Mr Musk promotes.
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What Musk stands to gain from Trump
Mr Trump added: “A smaller government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!”
Mr Musk said in the statement that the department will “send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste”.
The billionaire has said in the past he wants to cut $2trn from the federal budget but has provided few details on what he would cut.
Meanwhile, Mr Ramaswamy, who threw his support behind Mr Trump after suspending his own bid for the presidency in January, previously called for mass lay-offs in federal agencies.
The union representing federal workers said in a statement on Tuesday that if the DOGE implements these recommendations, or ones similar, it would “mean massive cuts” to multiple departments.
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How Trump won the election
In a string of picks for his second administration, Mr Trump also named Fox New host and army veteran Pete Hegseth as defence secretary and said he would nominate former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe to be director of the CIA.
Earlier this week, the president-elect named Susie Wiles – who ran his 2024 presidential campaign – as his White House chief of staff, the first woman in history to take up one of the most important non-elected roles in Washington.
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Florida senator Marco Rubio is reported to be named as secretary of state, who serves as the president’s chief foreign affairs adviser and the country’s top diplomat.
If chosen, Mr Rubio would be first Latino member of the president-elect’s top team, but Mr Trump could still change his mind on the appointment.
Below is a list of all the appointments Mr Trump has made for his administration so far:
• Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
• Pete Hegseth, secretary of defence
• Mike Waltz, national security adviser
• Tom Homan, “border czar”
• Elise Stefanik, United Nations ambassador
• Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy
• Lee Zeldin, head of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
• Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
• John Ratcliffe, CIA director
• William McGinley, White House counsel
• Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security.
A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who leaked classified Pentagon information has been jailed for 15 years.
Jack Teixeira shared documents that contained information about the war in Ukraine on the messaging platform Discord.
The leak exposed information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Kyiv’s soldiers.
He began sharing the documents in 2022, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported, and had held top-secret security clearance since the year before.
Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of wilful retention and transmission of national defence information following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, he showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by US district judge Indira Talwani.
Before being sentenced, he apologised for his actions, saying: “I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused.”
He referenced the “maelstrom” he created and added: “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring.”
Afterwards, Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, hugged one of his lawyers and looked toward his family and smiled, before being led away.
Jack Teixeira, a member of the US Air National Guard. Pic: Reuters
The security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and left the Biden administration scrambling to try to contain the fallout.
The leaks were also embarrassing for the Pentagon which tightened controls and disciplined members who failed to take necessary action over the 22-year-old’s suspicious behaviour.
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A court sketch of Teixeira. Pic: AP
Assistant US attorney Jared Dolan said Teixeira’s sentencing would “be a cautionary tale for the men and women in the US military”.
Teixeira’s own lawyers said that while his actions were criminal, they were never intended to “harm the United States”.
A smashed tablet recovered from bins near Teixeira’s home. Pic: AP
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“Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to make certain they were not misled by misinformation,” the lawyers claimed.
Prosecutors in court said he tried to cover his tracks as they found a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox in a rubbish bin at his house.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist – an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.
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