Anti-Americanism

Democratic candidates in Nassau County, New York, held a news conference in Garden City accusing the New York State Republican Party of distributing campaign mailers with false and misleading claims less than three weeks before Election Day. Hempstead Town supervisor candidate Joe Scianablo and others said the mailers were designed to divide voters.

Specific complaints included a mailer that accused Sean McCarthy, a Port Washington police commissioner and candidate, of funding an "anti-American antisemitic agenda." Assembly candidate Kim Keiserman said she received a similarly misleading mailer. Assembly candidate Dean Tarulli objected to a mailer pairing his photo with Mayor Zohran Mamdani's under the word "insane," alongside quotes he said were falsely attributed to him rather than commentator Hasan Piker.

The state GOP defended the mailers, arguing Democrats have failed to distance themselves from Mamdani and Piker's rhetoric. Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs called the attacks guilt-by-association with no factual basis. Democrats said they sent a cease-and-desist letter, while some voters said they were simply disregarding the mailers.

A campaign sign for Alexis Stadler, a candidate for the Union County Public Schools Board of Education in Waxhaw, N.C., was defaced with a black swastika, prompting the Union County Sheriff's Office to open an investigation as a possible case of ethnic intimidation. Stadler, who is raising her children in both Catholic and Jewish traditions with her Jewish husband, says she has faced repeated antisemitic harassment during her campaign, including slurs and offensive memes. Despite the incident, she says she will stay in the race while taking added precautions for her family's safety.

Sharon Goldman of the American Jewish Committee called the vandalism an attack on American democratic values, citing the organization's recent findings that most American Jews feel less safe than a year ago. Stadler's opponent, Linda Robinson, condemned criminal acts generally but declined to specifically denounce the incident, accusing Stadler of using it to distract from political disagreements. Authorities say such incidents are not common in Union County.

U.S. inbound tourism fell roughly 20 percent in 2026 compared to 2025, even as global travel grew 5 to 10 percent, according to U.S. Travel Association president Geoff Freeman. The decline would have been steeper without this year's World Cup, which drew large numbers of foreign visitors. The U.S. welcomed nearly 80 million visitors in 2019 and has not returned to that level since, a trend worsened by pandemic-era drops and now compounded by new pressures.

Freeman cited multiple causes: high costs, the war in Ukraine limiting flight paths for Asian travelers, political backlash against the Trump administration, and foreign press coverage of tourists detained by U.S. immigration authorities. Cases include British tourist Karen Newton, held six weeks over an expired visa, and Welsh backpacker Becky Burke, detained 19 days. Florida has been especially hurt by a steep drop in Canadian visitors and business travelers amid Trump's trade war with Canada, with Freeman warning the lost goodwill will have lingering economic effects on major tourism states like Florida, California, New York and Texas.

President Donald Trump delivered a lengthy keynote at the Republican National Committee's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, urging supporters to treat November "like I'm on the ballot" and framing the elections as a choice between GOP prosperity and what he called Democratic-led "communism." He touted 2025 tax cuts, including ending taxes on tips and an expanded child tax credit, and pledged a $5,000 "Trump Dividend" per citizen if Republicans hold Congress. Trump gave an energetic endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his Senate race against Democrat James Talarico, and paid tribute to Charlie Kirk on the anniversary of his assassination.

The two-day "Trumpapalooza" event drew scrutiny for a half-empty arena, steep fundraiser ticket prices, and low turnout from vulnerable California Republicans, several of whom skipped the gathering entirely. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared via video praising Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick, a notable cross-party moment. Critics, including Democratic strategists, argued Trump's self-focused approach, delivered amid low approval ratings and high gas prices, could hurt Republicans in competitive districts ahead of the midterms.