BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin attend a joint press conference after a meeting in Helsinki on July 16.
President Donald Trump inspires less trust around the world than many other international leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, according to a new global survey.
CNN reports on the survey by the Pew Research Center, which polled people in 25 countries and found that just 27% of respondents have confidence in Trump to “do the right thing regarding world affairs.” The survey was taken among 26,112 respondents in 25 countries from May 20 to August 12.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are viewed with more confidence internationally than Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin or U.S. President Donald Trump https://t.co/3FAe9Fp8EH pic.twitter.com/WJCs42cnca
— Pew Research Global (@pewglobal) October 1, 2018
Visa ban considered: The Financial Times reports White House hawks earlier this year encouraged Trump to stop providing student visas to Chinese nationals, but the proposal was shelved over concerns about its economic and diplomatic impact. The report says that as the administration debated ways to tackle Chinese espionage, Stephen Miller, a White House aide who has been pivotal in developing the administration’s hardline immigration policies, pushed Trump and other officials to make it impossible for Chinese citizens to study in the U.S., according to three people familiar with the situation. Terry Branstad, the former Iowa governor who is U.S. ambassador to China, succeeded in convincing Trump that Miller’s proposal was too draconian, the report says.
Meanwhile, USA Today reports the Trump administration this week began denying visas to unmarried, same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and officials and employees of the United Nations, making marriage a requirement to be eligible for a visa. The policy was made effective Monday. The report says the shift gives the same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. workers until the end of the year to get married or leave the country. The heterosexual partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. employees are also not eligible for U.S. visas.
Signs of blue wave: Axios writes signs of a “blue wave” are building, and barring some dramatic shift in the next five weeks, it is likely to be more than enough to wipe out the Republican majority in the House. The Senate may not be out of reach, either, says the report. Axios writes more Democratic challengers have out-raised Republican incumbents and candidates than ever before; more Democrats turned out in House primaries than Republicans this cycle; and Democrats have had a double-digit lead over Republicans in the generic congressional ballot in the last month.
Trump directed legal action: The Wall Street Journal reports Trump personally directed an effort in February to stop Stormy Daniels from publicly describing an alleged sexual encounter with him. The Journal cites people familiar with the events, reporting that in a phone call, Trump instructed his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to seek a restraining order against the former adult-film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, through a confidential arbitration proceeding. Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for the president, declined to comment.
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