The Latest: Trump will campaign in Alabama ahead of the midterm elections

President Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail as he seeks to shore up lagging enthusiasm in his party ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

On Friday, he’ll attend a rally in Alabama, then travel to Ohio on Saturday. He could have his work cut out for him: Just 26% of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Trump’s immigration policies, meanwhile, are finding renewed attention in the Supreme Court, which agreed Thursday to review his administration’s denial of bond hearings for immigrants during its sweeping crackdown. The justices will consider whether immigrants who’ve been living in the U.S. have a right to a hearing to determine if they should remain detained while challenging their possible deportation.

Here’s the latest:

Trump administration says it has no plans for ICE officers at polls. Activists are preparing, anyway

With early voting already underway, a question worrying some voters is what role — if any — immigration enforcement officers might have at polling places through Election Day.

Department of Homeland Security officials say they don’t plan to send immigration enforcement officers en masse to patrol the polls and dismissed concerns that they plan to do so as “fearmongering.” Election legal experts say federal law clearly prevents the government from deploying any armed troops, agents or officers to election sites except to “repel armed enemies of the United States,” a high bar to clear.

But organizations who represent Latino, Black and Asian American voters say the rhetoric and ICE’s own activity make them worried at a time the number of immigration arrests is soaring as President Trump carries out his mass deportation agenda.

▶ Read more

Trump tried to make an ally out of fishermen. Some have started to turn on him

John Evich, a commercial fisherman in Washington and Alaska, has voted for President Donald Trump three times, viewing him as someone who would fight for his industry.

But these days, Evich is weary of the high cost of doing business at sea, with fuel prices rising and trade hostilities with Canada jeopardizing markets for the crabs that he pulls off the ocean floor.

“If somebody came along that was going to do a better job, I would vote for them in a heartbeat,” he said.

Evich’s sentiment, echoed throughout the U.S. seafood industry, is another piece of a political puzzle that’s working against Trump in the midterm elections. Dissatisfaction among commercial fishermen could cause collateral damage for Republicans in competitive races in Washington, Alaska and Maine.

▶ Read more

Trump blitzes toward the midterms with campaign rallies across the country

President Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail as he seeks to shore up lagging enthusiasm in his party ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

He could have their work cut out for him, though.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only 17% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living. Just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low.

Republicans have expressed growing pessimism about their chances in the election, which will determine control of Congress, as the president has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas prices as his unpopular war in Iran drags on.

According to Trump, his party has merely done a poor job of public relations in promoting his administration’s accomplishments.

“Maybe we’re doing a bad job selling it,” Trump said while campaigning in Texas.

  WPLG