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.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been linked to a second group chat about sensitive military operations, which he reportedly shared with his wife, brother and personal lawyer.
The messages sent via the Signal messaging app are again understood to have contained details of an attack on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in March.
The second chat group, initially reported by The New York Times, included about a dozen people. It revealed details of the schedule of the airstrikes, according to the Reuters news agency.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News there were 13 people in the second chat group, and Mr Hegseth divulged the information despite an aide warning him about using an unsecure communications system.
Mr Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, has attended sensitive meetings with foreign military counterparts, while his brother was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser.
Military details from the first chat group were revealed by a journalist from The Atlantic magazine who was accidentally added to the Signal app by national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Mr Hegseth then shared sensitive information with cabinet officials about last month’s airstrike on targets in Yemen, which was later leaked.
Read more from Sky News:
What is Signal?
Who is Pete Hegseth?
Mike Waltz (left) and Pete Hegseth (right) have used Signal to discuss sensitive government matters. Pic: AP
‘A non-story,’ says White House
But the White House has consistently defended Mr Hegseth.
Donald Trump dismissed the original leak as “something that can happen”.
Responding to the latest chat group, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said: “No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared.
“Recently-fired ‘leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.”
The “leakers” referred to in the White House statement are four senior officials who were ousted from the Pentagon last week as part of an internal leak investigation.
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Leaked war plans: ‘Fairly serious’
‘Hegseth put lives at risk’
The New York Times reported that the second chat – named “Defence | Team Huddle” – was created on Mr Hegseth’s private phone.
It detailed the same warplane launch times as the first chat.
Several former and current officials have said sharing those operational details before a strike would have certainly been classified, and their release could have put pilots in danger.
Democratic politicians have repeatedly called for Mr Hegseth to step down.
“We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a post on X.
“But [Donald] Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
The latest claims about Mr Hegseth emerged as Yemen’s Houthi rebels reported another wave of US airstrikes on Sunday, including on the capital Sanaa.
The Houthis said at least 12 people had been killed, with 30 more injured.
The US says its bombing campaign is in response to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes.
DHL Express is suspending some shipments to the US as Donald Trump’s new tariff regime takes effect.
From 21 April, shipments worth more than $800 (£603) to US consumers from “any origin” will be temporarily suspended.
New rules that came into effect at the start of April made such shipments subject to increased customs checks.
“This change has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock,” said the parcel delivery service.
Shipments going from business to business worth more than $800 aren’t affected by the suspension, but DHL warned they may also face delays.
Shipments under $800 to either businesses or consumers are not impacted, but one British cycle manufacturer suggested its US customers may need to split orders over $800 into “smaller shipments” to avoid the red tape.
Read more:
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Trump: Tariffs are making US ‘rich’
Trump targeting ‘deceptive’ practices
From May, shipments from China and Hong Kong that are worth less than $800 “will be subject to all applicable duties”, according to the White House.
“President Trump is targeting deceptive shipping practices by Chinese-based shippers, many of whom hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages,” it said in a statement.
Until now, deliveries worth less than $800 didn’t incur any duties, which allowed low-cost companies Chinese like Shein and Temu to make inroads in the US.
Both have warned their prices will now rise because of the rule changes, starting on 25 April.
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