{"id":4049,"date":"2026-08-17T23:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T23:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=4049"},"modified":"2026-08-17T23:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T23:09:25","slug":"a-democratic-warning-sign-in-michigan-from-the-politics-desk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=4049","title":{"rendered":"A Democratic warning sign in Michigan: From the Politics Desk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Happy Monday. In today\u2019s edition, our staff digs into President Donald Trump\u2019s latest surprise in the realm of foreign affairs. Plus, senior national politics reporter Sahil Kapur explores a polling gap in Michigan \u2014 and what it means for the Democratic Party.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Ex-wife of Michigan mass shooting suspect blames officials for why he wasn\u2019t in prison<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2014 Scott Bland<\/em><\/p>\n

A Michigan Senate poll offers warning signs for Democrats<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Analysis by Sahil Kapur<\/h3>\n

While polls show a political environment favorable enough to Senate Democrats that they\u2019re competitive in several states where President Donald Trump <\/strong>won by double digits, a new survey offers a sobering reality check in must-win Michigan.<\/p>\n

Days after progressive Abdul El-Sayed <\/strong>defeated moderate Haley Stevens <\/strong>in a highly competitive Democratic primary this month, a conducted by a bipartisan pair of polling firms found El-Sayed trailing Republican nominee Mike Rogers <\/strong>by 4 points, 51%-47%.<\/p>\n

The same poll also looked at the race for governor and found Democrat Jocelyn Benson <\/strong>leading Republican John James <\/strong>by 5 points, 52%-47%. Both spreads are within the poll\u2019s margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.<\/p>\n

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The most worrying finding for El-Sayed in the poll may be that his weakness compared to his Democratic ticket-mate isn\u2019t limited to any specific demographic. He\u2019s underperforming Benson among just about every group \u2014 including men (by 4 points), women (by 8 points), white voters (by 5 points), Black voters (by 11 points), college-educated voters (by 4 points), voters without a college degree (by 7 points) and even voters under 30 (by 7 points).<\/p>\n

The most stark deficit is among independents: Benson is winning them by 18 points, or 56%-38%, while El-Sayed is losing them 5 points (48%-43%) in the same poll.<\/p>\n

There are caveats. El-Sayed just broke free of a bitterly contested primary that divided the Democratic Party \u2014 and while Stevens has fully endorsed him, those wounds will take time to heal. By contrast, Benson coasted to her nomination without much competition, allowing her to pivot to the general election early.<\/p>\n

Rogers has also proven to be an adept candidate, serving in Congress as a mainstream conservative from 2001 to 2015 and more recently gaining Trump\u2019s endorsement to help him with the MAGA base. He only narrowly lost a 2024 Senate race, and he\u2019s trying to avoid weighing in on contentious issues and instead keep the focus on Democrats.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed ran on a message that a populist progressive like him is better suited than an establishment Democrat to carry the mantle of change and to speak to the needs of struggling middle class and low-income Americans. Now he has to prove it \u2014 and the stakes are high for both the progressive movement and the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Without holding on to Michigan, the party\u2019s already tough path to netting four seats and winning a Senate majority narrows dramatically.<\/p>\n

Read more Childhood vaccine exemptions for personal or religious reasons hit new record<\/a><\/p>\n

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El-Sayed has 11 weeks to make up the deficit. But the early findings show that he has a lot of work to do.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s call to scale back military drills and deference to Kim Jong Un alarm South Korea<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By Jennifer Jett and Stella Kim<\/h3>\n

The United States\u2019 military drills with South Korea have long served as an annual demonstration of American commitment to its key ally\u2019s security.But the exercises were thrown into confusion today after President Donald Trump<\/strong> called for them to be scaled back hours before they were set to begin, adding to a sense of vulnerability in Asia as the U.S. is occupied by the war with Iran.<\/p>\n

Trump cited South Korea\u2019s refusal to join the conflict in the Middle East, as well as his \u201cvery good\u201d relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He said the exercises sent a \u201ctotally inappropriate and hostile\u201d signal to North Korea, a nuclear-armed state that has been escalating threats against its neighbor.<\/p>\n

But the order to \u201csubstantially reduce\u201d the 11-day drills may have sent its own ominous signal to South Korea, which remains heavily dependent on the U.S. for nuclear deterrence against North Korea\u2019s growing nuclear threat.<\/p>\n

Retired Lt. Gen. Chun In-bum<\/strong>, former commander of South Korea\u2019s Special Warfare Command, told NBC News he was \u201cvery concerned that the combined military exercises are being treated so lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scaling back the exercises is not in the interest of Seoul or Washington, he said: \u201cI really think North Korea and China would be the ones most pleased by this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read more \u2192<\/p>\n

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