Trump administration prepares sweeping sanctions on International Criminal Court
Senate polling averages show Democrats with an edge in eight of the nine closest states six weeks before the midterm elections, according to RealClear Polling data cited in the Wall Street Journal’s Monday Politics newsletter. Democrats lead in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina, with Iowa the sole state among the nine where Republicans hold an edge.
WSJ Washington coverage chief Damian Paletta wrote that “Democrats have advantages in eight of the nine closest states (the sole GOP edge is in Iowa),” citing the RealClear Polling averages. Under those leads, two candidates considered long-shot winners would pull off Senate victories: Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and James Talarico in Texas.
Paletta cautioned that polling “has been spotty this year” and has “underestimated GOP voters many times before.” He described the blue-wave scenario as seeming “a little hard to imagine at this point” but said it provides “a notable benchmark with six weeks left.”
The Journal reported the polling data as advertising spending surges in competitive states. Paletta said he had recently traveled to Texas and North Carolina and could “vouch for the fact that ad spending is pouring in and blanketing America.” The paper on Monday launched a “Rooted In” video series in which its journalists visit their hometowns, beginning with reporter Josh Jamerson’s segment from Detroit.
President Trump’s Monday schedule included two policy meetings in the morning, a 1:45 p.m. ET ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a 4:10 p.m. meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Trump was scheduled later in the day to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, attend a Republican National Committee reception, and participate in a MAGA Inc. dinner.
The U.N. General Assembly meets this week in New York, with Trump scheduled to speak on Tuesday.
The Trump administration is preparing sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court, according to officials. The measures would impose a six-to-seven-month grace period before forbidding most transactions with the ICC, which officials said could cut the court off from U.S. dollar transactions and much of the global financial system. The court had issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump said his proposed triumphal arch in Washington will also serve as a “military complex” housing drones and sniper ammunition, providing new justification for the planned structure amid a federal lawsuit filed by three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian.
Twenty months into his second term, Trump has expressed frustration behind the scenes about not having enough political allies defending him on television and making the case for his second-term achievements, according to advisers, administration officials and others familiar with the matter.
Paletta has covered Washington for 22 years as a reporter and editor. The newsletter was curated and edited in collaboration with Joe Erwin and Yolanda McBride.