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Thursday, September 3, 2026

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33 minutes ago
News
War

Iran Strikes at U.S. Bases in Kuwait, UAE.

Iran has launched missile and drone strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait and the UAE, escalating regional tensions following reported U.S. bombings in southern Iran.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Iran continued launching strikes against U.S. military installations and American allies in the Middle East on Thursday, despite the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announcing the previous day that its own bombing campaign had ended. Iranian officials said the latest attacks targeted U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while Kuwait confirmed that its territory came under a wave of Iranian missile and drone attacks before dawn.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “The continuation of these brazen assaults reflects a hostile approach and constitutes a dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region,” Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense stated.
📺 DETAIL: Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted the incoming weapons and condemned what it called a “blatant Iranian aggression,” while the country’s foreign ministry warned that the attacks represented a dangerous escalation and reserved Kuwait’s right to respond. Iran’s military claimed its forces struck communications systems, equipment storage facilities, and aircraft hangars at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, as well as troop deployment areas and radar systems at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE, although the extent of any damage has not been independently verified. The renewed attacks came as Iranian authorities reported that 18 people had been killed and more than 140 wounded in Iran since August 30. Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over the future of the broader conflict, with reports indicating President Donald J. Trump is considering whether to formally declare the war over while U.S.-Iran negotiations remain stalled.
🎯 IMPACT: The continued Iranian attacks demonstrate that the conflict remains volatile despite the U.S. declaration that its bombing operation has ended, raising the risk of a wider regional confrontation involving American forces and key U.S. allies. Continued strikes could also disrupt energy markets, increase pressure on U.S. military resources, and complicate President Trump’s efforts to end the war ahead of the November midterm elections.

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By Popular Demand.
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2 hours ago
Media
News
UK

State-Owned Channel 4 Admits to Knowing Anti-Reform ‘Undercover Reporters’ Are Net Zero Political Activists.

Channel 4 has admitted to knowing that the so-called “undercover reporters” behind a recent anti-Reform investigation are foreign-funded climate activists, raising concerns about the state-owned broadcaster’s impartiality.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: State-owned British broadcaster Channel 4 admitted to portraying foreign-funded net zero activists as “undercover reporters” in a recent investigation into Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
📺 DETAIL: On Thursday, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse Raheem Kassam posted a video to X (formerly Twitter) of Channel 4’s press office admitting by phone call that “Verbatim Investigations,” ostensibly a group of independent undercover reporters, are the “same people” as the Center for Climate Reporting, an activist group that supports net zero. Channel 4’s press office stated that the investigation was brought to the broadcaster by Verbatim Investigations, rather than conceived by the broadcaster itself. The broadcaster also stated that it was aware of chief investigator Lawrence Carter’s involvement in the organization. Carter previously headed Unearthed, the investigations wing of Greenpeace, and was at one point arrested for breaking into and occupying a power station. He later co-founded the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR). As uncovered by Kassam on Thursday, Carter incorporated Verbatim Investigations in early July after its activists posed as prospective donors to Reform as part of a report for Channel 4. Significantly, Carter shares the same office address as Reform Watch Ltd, an anti-Reform activist group. The CCR is funded by several grant-making organizations, including the KR Foundation, a Denmark-based organization that also funds the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, a pro-censorship group. Leaders of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in the United States Congress wrote to Carter back in 2021 for publishing a “substantially edited” and “incomplete record” of a conversation between him and an employee of American oil and gas company ExxonMobil.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Yeah, no, we are aware they’re the same people.” – Channel 4, responding to questions on whether the broadcaster was aware of Carter’s links to the CCR
🎯 IMPACT: The recent Channel 4 story on Reform demonstrates Carter’s ongoing use of subterfuge combined with the selective editing that saw him rebuked by Congress. The fact that Channel 4 chose to run a report it knew was conducted by an ideologically motivated organization is likely to cast further doubt on Channel 4’s impartiality and the crediblity of its reporting, especially when it concerns matters related to Nigel Farage and Reform. 

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Channel 4 has admitted to knowing that the so-called "undercover reporters" behind a recent anti-Reform investigation are foreign-funded climate activists, raising concerns about the state-owned broadcaster's impartiality.

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By Popular Demand.
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3 hours ago
Data
Economy
News

DATA: Monthly Layoffs Hit Four-Year Low.

Layoffs in the U.S. have dropped to their lowest level since 2022, but hiring remains sluggish, raising concerns about economic momentum.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Layoffs in the United States hit a four-year low in August, according to new data.
📺 DETAIL: Layoffs across the U.S. in August fell to their lowest level in four years, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, with employers announcing 52,881 job cuts, a 38 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2025. However, despite this positive trend, hiring activity has not kept pace, raising questions about the broader health of the labor market. The consumer products industry led August’s job cuts with over 10,000 layoffs, followed by the food and technology sectors. Over the first eight months of the year, technology firms accounted for more than 155,000 layoffs, driven primarily by restructuring and economic conditions rather than by artificial intelligence (AI), which many fear is driving layoffs in sectors such as tech.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “What we’d like to see with low layoffs is an increase in hiring activity,” said Andy Challenger, Chief Revenue Officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “It doesn’t appear those positions are being filled quickly.”
🎯 IMPACT: While the reduction in layoffs suggests economic resilience, the lack of robust hiring may signal lingering uncertainty among employers. However, it may also signal that the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions are effectively restraining foreign recruitment, which filled a majority of new jobs under the Biden government.

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Layoffs in the U.S. have dropped to their lowest level since 2022, but hiring remains sluggish, raising concerns about economic momentum.

show more
By Popular Demand.
The National Pulse Now has an on-site comments section for members. Sign up today and be part of the conversation in our community of almost 15,000.
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4 hours ago
Immigration
News

Indians Face 179-Year Green Card Wait Following Trump’s Immigration Reforms.

The U.S. green card backlog has reached 1.2 million applicants, with Indian nationals facing unprecedented wait times due to federal immigration caps.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Indians seeking U.S. green cards now face wait times as long as 179 years due to federal caps on annual green card issuances and country-specific limits. The backlog has reached 1.2 million applicants, with countries like India and China experiencing the longest delays.
📺 DETAIL: U.S. immigration law limits green card issuances to 140,000 annually, with no more than seven percent allocated to any single country. This disproportionately affects applicants from populous nations like India and China, who can face decades-long wait times for approval. For Indian nationals with EB-2 status (advanced degree professionals), the wait time is estimated at 179 years, while Chinese applicants face waits of 25 years. In contrast, workers from the Philippines often wait only a few months.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “We don’t need these tech workers. These employment visa programs that have led to this logjam have negatively impacted American innovation and inventiveness. … If you don’t want to be in that backlog, don’t come to the United States, don’t participate.” – Kevin Lynn, executive director of the Institute for Sound Policy
📺 FLASHBACK: The Trump administration’s immigration policies, including caps on H-1B visas and proposed fee increases, have tightened up the legal immigration process. Democrat politicians in Congress and elsewhere have been pushing back against the changes, despite their positive impact on the American workers whose value and bargaining power are reduced by large inflows of immigrant workers.

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The U.S. green card backlog has reached 1.2 million applicants, with Indian nationals facing unprecedented wait times due to federal immigration caps.

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By Popular Demand.
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5 hours ago
Crime
News

ICE Captures Illegal Immigrant with Two-Decade History of Crime.

The arrest highlights ongoing efforts by ICE to remove criminal illegal aliens and ensure public safety in U.S. communities.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a 55-year-old illegal alien from the Philippines whose criminal history in the United States spans two decades. Jaime Tan Francisco was taken into ICE custody on August 2, roughly one week after Las Vegas police arrested him on charges including domestic battery, attempted arson, drug possession, resisting an officer, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
📺 DETAIL: Acting ICE Director David Venturella said Francisco first entered the United States through Detroit, Michigan, in April 2000, and was authorized to remain only until October 26 of that year, meaning he subsequently spent nearly 26 years in the country illegally. His arrest comes as the Trump administration has dramatically expanded immigration enforcement, with ICE recording a record 50,925 arrests in August, including illegal aliens convicted of crimes ranging from murder and DUI manslaughter to child pornography and fentanyl trafficking.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Criminal illegal aliens are unwelcome in the U.S., and ICE is partnering with state and local police to keep them off our streets and out of our communities,” said Acting ICE Director David Venturella
🎯 IMPACT: Francisco’s case illustrates the Trump administration’s broader effort to identify and remove illegal aliens who have accumulated criminal records while remaining in the country for years. The accelerating pace of ICE arrests, particularly those involving aliens with serious convictions, is likely to intensify the national debate over immigration enforcement, sanctuary policies, and the federal government’s responsibility to prioritize public safety.

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The arrest highlights ongoing efforts by ICE to remove criminal illegal aliens and ensure public safety in U.S. communities.

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By Popular Demand.
The National Pulse Now has an on-site comments section for members. Sign up today and be part of the conversation in our community of almost 15,000.
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6 hours ago
Crime
News
UK

Reform UK Chairman Backs Referendum on Reinstating the Death Penalty.

Reform UK party chairman Lee Anderson has called for a referendum on reinstating the death penalty in Britain, highlighting growing public support while acknowledging the divisive nature of the issue.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Lee Anderson, chairman of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, has expressed his personal support for a referendum on reinstating the death penalty. The Reform chairman clarified that “Nothing on the death penalty will be part of party policy,” however.
📺 DETAIL: Anderson, who also serves as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield, argued in an interview that a majority of British people would vote to bring back the death penalty. Anderson added that he and Farage “differ” on the issue. “We learnt that with the Brexit referendum, it divides the country and gets families falling out with each other. So yes, I would [support a referendum], but it would be divisive, very divisive,” said Anderson. While Farage voiced skepticism over the death penalty due to past miscarriages of justice, he has said he understands “why others take a different point of view.” Anderson cited the Islamist terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who murdered off-duty British Army soldier Lee Rigby back in 2013, as examples of the type of criminals who deserve the death penalty. Anderson’s remarks follow polling data from last year showing growing support for the death penalty. According to More in Common, a British polling firm, 55 percent of British people favor the reintroduction of capital punishment for certain crimes. Published back in January 2025, the share of Britons who support the restoration of capital punishment has increased from the 50 percent recorded back in 2023. During the same period, opposition fell from 37 percent to 32 percent. Millennials were the most supportive, with 58 percent in favor versus 27 percent opposed.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “People say, ‘Oh, Nigel doesn’t agree with the death penalty and you’re divided,’ what a load of b****s that is! This is how out of touch I think Parliament is. I think the public would vote for the death penalty. Parliament would never vote for the death penalty.” – Lee Anderson
🎯 IMPACT: Any move to reinstate the death penalty in Britain would face significant legal challenges, including conflicts with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a binding international treaty which has been used to block the deportation of foreign criminals and also bars capital punishment. Anderson’s comments underscore the willingness of populist politicians across the West to use direct democracy to gain popular consent for major policy changes. For instance, earlier this week, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally (RN) party in France, announced several referendum proposals, including reforms to birthright citizenship, welfare access, and the wearing of Islamic veils.

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Reform UK party chairman Lee Anderson has called for a referendum on reinstating the death penalty in Britain, highlighting growing public support while acknowledging the divisive nature of the issue.

show more
By Popular Demand.
The National Pulse Now has an on-site comments section for members. Sign up today and be part of the conversation in our community of almost 15,000.

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6 hours ago
Crime
News

Man Gets Probation for Plotting to Bomb, Behead ICE Agents.

An Oregon man who plotted to murder ICE agents received probation after a plea deal reduced his charges significantly.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: An Oregon man who was accused of plotting to kill federal immigration agents at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland has been sentenced to three years of probation after reaching a plea agreement. Rayden Tanner Coleman, 19, of Columbia City, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of unlawful manufacture of a destructive device, while prosecutors dismissed 13 other charges, including first- and second-degree domestic terrorism counts.
📺 DETAIL: Coleman was arrested on February 4 after investigators uncovered a plan to follow ICE agents home from the facility, track them using night-vision equipment, and kill them with homemade explosives before taking their heads as trophies. Authorities said they found surveillance equipment, tactical axes, military-style knives, shovels, Molotov cocktails, and other homemade explosive devices in his vehicle. Court documents also indicate he had been making payments toward an AR-15 rifle. According to an affidavit, Coleman outlined his plans in a manifesto on Discord and attempted to recruit roommates to participate, telling them he was “sick and tired” of immigration enforcement operations and intended to obtain a firearm. He also allegedly discussed killing the father of a friend who worked as a security guard at the ICE facility and later acknowledged during a police interview that he had planned to use Molotov cocktails against federal agents. Coleman was sentenced by Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Michael T. Clarke to 75 days in jail with credit for time served, meaning he will not serve additional time behind bars. The case began after a roommate’s parents alerted police to Coleman’s alleged plans, leading authorities to arrest him during a traffic stop.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “I will actively kill any ICE agents killing or kidnapping civilians,” Coleman wrote in a manifesto shared on Discord.
🎯 IMPACT: The three-year probation sentence is likely to fuel criticism over lenient sentences for an alleged plot involving homemade explosives, plans to murder ICE agents, and attempts to recruit others into the scheme. The case could also intensify debate over how aggressively authorities and prosecutors should punish politically motivated threats against federal law enforcement.

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An Oregon man who plotted to murder ICE agents received probation after a plea deal reduced his charges significantly.

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By Popular Demand.
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7 hours ago
Immigration
Lawfare
News

Biden Judge Blocks Push to Deny Birthright Citizenship to the Children of Birth Tourists and ‘Alien Enemies.’

A federal judge has halted President Trump’s executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship for the children of alien enemies and birth tourists, claiming it is unconstitutional.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A federal judge has blocked President Donald J. Trump’s most recent executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship in the United States, declaring it “almost certainly unconstitutional.” Trump’s ‘Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship’ order, signed in August, sought to deny birthright citizenship to the children of “alien enemies,” such as members of designated terrorist organizations, “birth tourists,” and others, after a more expansive order denying birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens was overturned by the Supreme Court.
📰 DETAIL: U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a 35-page ruling against Trump’s August order, referencing a Supreme Court decision from June that blocked a similar 2025 order. The Joe Biden appointee claims that the President’s attempts to alter birthright citizenship through executive orders contradict the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “This Court must, once again, preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the President’s most recent attempt to strip the right to citizenship from them,” wrote Judge Boardman.
🎯 IMPACT: The ruling prevents the enforcement of Trump’s order, maintaining the status quo of birthright citizenship for the children of alien enemies and birth tourists. This follows news last month that a State Department task force focused on tackling birth tourism has already revoked over 600 visas.

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A federal judge has halted President Trump's executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship for the children of alien enemies and birth tourists, claiming it is unconstitutional.

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By Popular Demand.
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8 hours ago
Immigration
News

Locals Burn Down Migrant Shanties in City Invaded by Illegal Aliens.

Tensions have escalated in Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is accusing foreign actors of fueling the crisis through so-called disinformation campaigns.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Residents of Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta tore down and burned makeshift migrant shelters last week as tensions intensified following a massive influx from neighboring Morocco. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has accused foreign-backed networks of fueling the crisis with so-called disinformation. Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags marched toward beachside migrant camps, chanting “Invaders, expulsion,” as police attempted to prevent clashes between protesters and migrants, according to Spanish media.
📺 DETAIL: The unrest followed the unprecedented influx of more than 72,000 migrants across the Morocco-Ceuta border on July 30 and 31, with Ceuta authorities saying at least 100 people died during the mass crossing. Roughly 5,000 migrants remain in the city. Sánchez said Monday that research by the European Union’s European External Action Service indicates that Russian– and Israeli-linked networks, alongside “far-right” groups, have helped circulate supposedly false claims on social media suggesting migrants who reached Ceuta will be allowed to remain in Spain. The Spanish prime minister said Moscow and Jerusalem were exploiting the crisis to target his government over its positions on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but provided no further evidence, while both Russia and Israel rejected the allegations. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Sánchez of “lying shamelessly,” while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also denied Russian involvement.
🎯 IMPACT: The Ceuta crisis is becoming a major test of Spain’s ability to control its borders while maintaining cooperation with Morocco and the European Union’s borderless Schengen system. With thousands of migrants still in the exclave, which lies on the coast of North Africa less than ten miles from the Spanish mainland and has been Spanish since the 1500s, violent clashes and increasingly hostile protests risk deepening political polarization. Sánchez’s allegations of Russian and Israeli involvement will further strain Madrid’s relations with both countries.

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Tensions have escalated in Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is accusing foreign actors of fueling the crisis through so-called disinformation campaigns.

show more
By Popular Demand.
The National Pulse Now has an on-site comments section for members. Sign up today and be part of the conversation in our community of almost 15,000.
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21 hours ago
Economy
News

Chevron Announces Massive Investment in Venezuela After Trump Oil Deal.

Chevron announced a major investment in Venezuela, signaling renewed U.S. interest in the nation’s oil reserves under President Donald J. Trump.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Chevron is expanding its operations in Venezuela, committing more than $7 billion in investment over the next five years as the Trump administration moves to restore and expand the country’s vast oil industry. The company announced Wednesday that it had been assigned additional acreage in Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt, where it already operates several major joint ventures, with plans to more than double production to approximately 600,000 barrels per day
📺 DETAIL: The expansion comes days after President Donald J. Trump announced a major agreement aimed at developing Venezuela’s enormous oil reserves and giving the U.S. a stake in the resulting profits. Venezuela possesses more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, making it one of the world’s most resource-rich oil producers, although years of socialist economic policies, political instability, sanctions, and deteriorating infrastructure have severely damaged its production capacity. Much of Venezuela’s crude is also exceptionally heavy and sour, meaning it requires specialized refineries, with the United States among the countries possessing significant capacity to process it. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, is currently the only major American oil producer with a substantial presence in Venezuela and has operated there since 1923 through ventures including Petroindependencia, Petropiar, and Petroboscan.
🎯 IMPACT: Chevron’s expansion could make Venezuela a major source of additional oil for the U.S. market while bringing billions of dollars of investment into an industry crippled by years of socialist mismanagement and infrastructure decay. The move also deepens the Trump administration’s strategic involvement in Venezuela and could reshape global energy markets by bringing some of the world’s largest untapped oil reserves back toward full-scale production.

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Chevron announced a major investment in Venezuela, signaling renewed U.S. interest in the nation's oil reserves under President Donald J. Trump.

show more
By Popular Demand.
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21 hours ago
Corruption
Data
News

Poll Reveals 89% of Americans See Corruption as Widespread in Government.

Perceptions of federal government corruption have reached a record high, according to a new Gallup poll, with skepticism cutting across traditional party lines and increasing year-on-year.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The vast majority of Americans believe that corruption is widespread in the United States government, according to a new poll.
📺 DETAIL: According to a new Gallup poll, 89 percent of Americans believe that corruption is widespread in the US government, constituting a 30-year high. This represents a continuous increase from 2016 and 2006, when such perceptions already stood at 76 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Since 2010, the percentage of Americans who believe that government corruption is widespread has remained above 70 percent. The recent figure also represents a 10-point increase since 2025. This cuts across party lines, with 91 percent of Democrats, 90 percent of Independents, and 83 percent of Republicans sharing the perception. However, Democrats’ views on corruption tend to shift depending on which party is in power. In contrast, Republicans show a more consistent skepticism regardless of which party is in power. “Democrats’ perceptions appear closely linked to which party controls the administration. Republicans’ greater consistency on this measure — despite the 2024 election delivering them the White House and Congress — suggests a more underlying view of government corruption that depends less on the party in power,” wrote Gallup. In 2024, only 57 percent of Democrats believed that corruption was widespread in the U.S. government. The poll also found that 71 percent of Americans believe that corruption is widespread in businesses, nearly 20 points lower than perceptions of government corruption.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Perceptions of government corruption are now higher in the U.S. than at any point in the past two decades and outpace most other countries, including advanced economies. While perceptions of corruption in business are also elevated, government corruption is seen as significantly more widespread,” Gallup concluded.
🎯 IMPACT: The U.S. now leads Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member nations in perceived government corruption. Colombia ranked second, at 79 percent. This growing distrust in government is likely to drive support for radical, populist, and outsider candidates. The widespread perception of U.S. government corruption explains why President Donald J. Trump has made tackling waste, fraud, and abuse a central priority of his administration.

Image by Elvert Barnes.

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Perceptions of federal government corruption have reached a record high, according to a new Gallup poll, with skepticism cutting across traditional party lines and increasing year-on-year.

show more
By Popular Demand.
The National Pulse Now has an on-site comments section for members. Sign up today and be part of the conversation in our community of almost 15,000.
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