On Monday, US President Donald Trump tried to boost Senator Jon Husted's re-election campaign by attacking two groups of African immigrants during an election rally in Ohio, where an organization with ties to Republicans began promoting a socialist candidate instead of Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.
Trump also paid tribute to Representative Max Miller, the Republican congressman who refused to withdraw from the re-election race despite being accused of domestic violence, pointing to him among the attendees.
“Thank you, Max, for coming,” Trump said. Thank you. very good".
But Trump focused on an issue he pays great attention to, which is immigration. He has repeatedly targeted the large Somali community in Minnesota, linking them on Monday evening to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
During a presidential debate two years ago, Trump falsely accused Haitians of eating pets. Referring to these accusations on Monday evening, Trump said: “I was right,” and boasted that his administration’s policies were pushing Haitians to leave the country.
“If you want to stop Ohio from being looted, pillaged, and destroyed like Minnesota is being destroyed, we will stop it,” Trump said. “And just like we did in Springfield, we will stop it, we will not let it happen.”
Trump's statements came on the same day that Department of Homeland Security agents searched the Washington home of Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, a Somali immigrant who represents a Minnesota district in the House of Representatives.
The Ministry of Justice announced in a statement that members of the Homeland Security Investigations Department executed a search warrant obtained by the Ministry pursuant to a judicial warrant in the Washington area, without providing any additional details.
On Sunday, US Federal Judge Jennifer Rochon in New York ordered President Donald Trump to cancel all remaining television ads funded by millions of taxpayer dollars. To promote its political and electoral messages.
Manhattan U.S. District Judge Rochon wrote in her two-week temporary order that the administration must “cancel or (cause to be canceled)” any ads from broadcast or syndication, including those scheduled to air Sunday night.
Its decision came after the Department of Homeland Security stated, in a filing submitted to the court on Saturday, that the advertisements “will not continue” after Sunday, and that it has no plans to purchase additional advertising space after that date.
President Trump announced that campaign funds would be used to pay for advertising in the future.
The injunction prohibits the department from “using, disbursing, or transferring funds” allocated to the Department of Homeland Security to “develop, create, publish, broadcast, distribute, or display” advertising.
The ads, which aired in late September, began airing an ad similar to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign ads, and another in which he and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appear promoting war on Iran.
These ads glorify Trump and reflect his political rhetoric ahead of the midterm congressional elections on November 3. One shows a clip of Trump talking about the danger of communism, while another rebroadcasts an ad from his previous presidential campaign. The fifth ad in the campaign began airing last Tuesday, and it focuses on the Trump administration's arrest of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
These ads were funded by $20 million that the Office of Management and Budget added to a line item in the Department of Homeland Security budget designated for “commemorative activities,” according to what the Washington Post previously reported. Congress approved this spending for “memorials to service martyrs, department or agency anniversaries, and honors ceremonies,” according to a House Budget Committee report.
Judge Rochon upheld a coalition that included the nonpartisan watchdog Common Cause, which challenged the ads as violating a federal law that prohibits agencies from using taxpayer dollars for unauthorized “advertising and promotion.”
“The defendants may not sign, renew, or expand any agreement authorizing the development, creation, publication, placement, or broadcast of the challenged advertisements” during the two-week period of her order, Rochon wrote, after suggesting that the plaintiffs “will succeed in their lawsuit” and that they “will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.”
Trump did not comment on the injunction, but after angry reactions from Democrats and some Republicans, he stated on October 5 that his political committee would cover the costs of future advertising.
The "Democracy Forward" legal charity organization expressed its "satisfaction with the speed of the court's response," saying: "We are pleased that the court moved quickly to prevent further use of taxpayer funds for such blatantly illegal political propaganda." There is no legal justification—nor precedent—for a president to use state agencies and funds appropriated by Congress for other purposes; To influence the election results to serve his personal agenda.
Last week, the Democratic National Committee filed a separate lawsuit over the ads, claiming they violate campaign spending rules and make it difficult for the group's candidates to compete.
The use of public funds has also drawn criticism from even some members of the Republican Party. Senate Republican Majority Leader, Senator John Thune, said that ads “should not be funded by taxpayers.”
Billionaire Elon Musk has become the largest known financier of Republican candidates for the US Congressional midterm elections, which will be held in 3 weeks. It pumped more than 276 million dollars. Hoping to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, as part of steps that coincide with other measures taken by President Donald Trump to limit voting for Democratic competitors, including through projects to prove citizenship, presenting an ID card at the polls, as well as limiting voting by mail.
The New York Times quoted representatives of the richest man in the world with previously unpublished numbers regarding Musk’s political donations, including $158 million to the “Senate Leadership Fund,” which supports the party’s candidates during the summer. This is considered one of the largest political donations in American history, and even exceeds what the “Democratic Fund” collected from all its donors in the same period.
Musk also created a Republican mobilization campaign through the “America Political Committee,” which he founded in 2024. He donated more than $76 million, which was spent over the summer on building an election campaign program to mobilize hard-to-reach Republican voters. The group is active in 7 disputed electoral districts in the Senate, and in about 30 electoral districts in the House of Representatives.
Electoral funds
Musk donated huge sums of money, amounting to about $366 million, to federal committees during the 2025-2026 election cycle. More than he donated during the 2024 election, when he spent about $290 million to help President Trump and Republicans return to power. He made much larger, undisclosed, donations during both elections.
This massive infusion of money has given the Republican Party a financial advantage in the November 3 midterm elections, enabling well-funded groups, such as Trump's powerful political action committee, to flood the media with ads in recent weeks. No Democratic billionaire can match what Musk spends. Money remains a major concern for the Democratic Party in a favorable political environment.
These donations enable Musk, who oversees a huge corporate empire that has benefited from massive federal contracts, to maintain his influence in American politics. He has remained silent about his political activity since his sharp disagreement with Trump last year. However, their relationship returned to its previous state, and they appeared together in 3 activities during the past two weeks, and each of them praised the other.
Now, Musk has donated more than a quarter of a billion dollars to support Trump and Republicans in the upcoming elections.
Right-wing tendencies
These donations indicate Musk's commitment to the oath, as well as his willingness to be a potential player in the 2028 presidential elections. His political committee announced its intention to continue its activity, which is the first time it has confirmed such plans.
In addition to Musk's donations to his political committee and the Senate Leadership Fund, his representatives reported that, during the period from July to September, he made smaller amounts; But it is still significant, for other conservative groups, including $20 million for the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main political committee for Republican members of the House of Representatives, $10 million for the Lone Star Liberty Committee, which supports the Republican Senate candidate for Texas Ken Paxton, $10 million for the Republican Governors Association, and $2 million for the Republican Attorneys General Association.
In addition to the reported $276 million, Musk also made millions of dollars in donations to support midterm election candidates through entities that are not obligated to disclose the identity of their donors.
Trumpian pressures
Meanwhile, Trump's various pressures did not succeed in reassuring Republicans regarding election polls.
In addition to his pressure on Congress to pass the Citizenship Proof Act, and his efforts to limit voting by mail through changes to the Postal Service, more than 30 electoral laws passed in Republican-controlled states will go into effect this year, many of which include elements of Trump’s proposals, such as changing the types of ID cards accepted for registration for the first time, and requirements for proof of citizenship.
Some new laws seek to facilitate the voting process. Others in Republican-controlled states are continuing an approach that began in 2021 after Trump's allegations of widespread fraud in his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Among the changes voters face as early voting begins: Students in New Hampshire can no longer use their student ID cards. Utah voters returning mail-in ballots must include more information on the envelope. Some voters in Mississippi may need birth certificates or passports to verify their identities.
Voting and election laws have become a frequent target of legislatures. The Trump administration has sought to implement multiple strategies to influence this year's elections, but most have been thwarted by Congress or the courts.
