Major New Trump and 2026 Polls Drop, DNC Loses $29K in Email Scam, Tony Romo Arrest: AM Update 7/30

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And so even if you look at the top, like immigration, one of his former strong suits, he still only sits at 39% approval. So there's not an issue where he is, he can sort of tout as a major success. But really troubling for him in his party is that we know the economy's issue number one. And he is just very, very low in those numbers on that issue. The president, however, finding one relative bright spot on voting rights and election integrity, his strongest issue in the CNN survey at 41% approval. That coming as separate polling shows overwhelming public support for requiring voters to present photo identification. CNN chief data analyst, Harry Anton, breaking it down. Yeah, overwhelming support for it. We've spoken about it before, and the polling really hasn't shifted all that much, and you can just see it right here. Okay, so we're talking about voter... Voters favoring photo ID to vote. Among all voters are talking 77%. And this is uniform, basically, or universal, I should say. Universal. Democrats, 62%. Independent, 77%. Republicans, 95%. This is something that is popular across the political spectrum. It is a rare thing that is popular across the political spectrum. When it comes to voter ID, the voters are with President Trump on this, whether they're Democrats, independents or Republicans. Overall, very clear, we're talking about three and four overall who support the idea of photo ID in order to vote. We asked Real Clear Politics co-founder and President Tom Bevan what the growing divide inside the Republican coalition could mean in November. It's huge, obviously. I mean, because the midterms are lower turnout elections and you need to motivate your base first and foremost. To have the Republican Party split like that. And also to have an enthusiasm gap where Democrats are much, much more eager to turn out in November or telling pollsters they are than Republicans. I mean, those two things bode very ill for Republicans. Midterms are base elections. You have to turn out your base, first and foremost. Yes, you want to win over independence, but first and foremost, you have to turn out your side. And Republicans are struggling to do that right now. Bevan tells us why independents remain a critical piece of the midterm equation. A lot of people will tell pollsters they're independent, but they're really, they lean Democrat or they lean Republican. The people who are truly independent that will vote independently are about 10%, sometimes a little bit lower, sometimes a little bit higher. That is a small slice of the electorate. But when you're talking about races that can be decided by a point or two, they become hugely important. to have independence so sour on and this is the other thing that is really a problem for republicans is that they control all the levers of government so Whatever your problem is, if you are dissatisfied with anything about the current state of our politics, whether it's the economy or inflation or Iran or anything else, there's really only one party that you can hold responsible for that. And that's the Republican Party. And that's why they are struggling in what is shaping up to be a very good Democratic year.

Bevin breaks down how both parties are attempting to frame the choice before voters. It's very easy to nationalize these races around Donald Trump. And so you have Senate candidates that in particular are running against Donald Trump, even though their term is six years long, Donald Trump will not be president for at least two-thirds of their term. And yet, it is all about fighting him in this moment. And that is what is motivating Democrats. And so, yes, they're nationalizing these elections all across the country around Donald Trump. And that's why, you know, Republicans are doing their best to make this, A, as localized as possible, and then B, the Republicans' second strategy is to say, look, you may not like Donald Trump. You may not like the Republican Party. However, the alternative in a binary choice, which is the Democrats, they are worse. And because they are radical, because they're socialist, because they are communists. having some effect, but certainly it's not as persuasive. As for voter ID, an issue where the president enjoys broad public support, Bevan offers a more complicated assessment of whether Republicans can translate that advantage into political momentum. So that is another 80-20 issue that Republicans are on the 80 side of. However, and this is, and Chuck Schumer has said this, Democrats will never, ever give in on the issue of voter ID, on the issue of Save America Act. Even if it was 100 to nothing, 100 to zero in favor of that, Democrats will be going to the wall against it. And so. And ironically, it has been an issue that has split Republicans. The Republican base, MAGA voters in particular, cannot understand why Republicans in Washington, D.C. will not... Find the votes and pass this. And President Trump has been very outspoken in terms of bashing John Thune and other Republicans for not getting this done. And so ironically, it's an issue that is depressing the Republican base because Republicans are in control and can't seem to get this passed. Meanwhile, Democrats are unified against it, even though it's an issue that the public is against them on overwhelmingly. The financially struggling Democrat National Committee, falling victim to an email scam, losing thousands of dollars to a fraudster impersonating its newly elected chairman. Notice, reporting an unknown person emailed a DNC staffer in February of last year, pretending to be chairman Ken Martin just days after he took office. The staffer reportedly sending the imposter nearly $29,000. A DNC official telling notice, the committee caught the mistake within minutes. and contacted Wells Fargo, but recovered only $7,000. The former staffer no longer working for the committee. The DNC later disclosing what it called a, quote, misdispersment caused by an outside fraudster to the Federal Election Commission, promising to implement additional safeguards. A committee spokesperson describing the incident to notice as a, quote, one-off mistake that was quickly addressed, while insisting nothing similar has happened since.

The embarrassing loss coming as the DNC struggles with a much larger financial crisis ahead of November's midterm elections. Federal records showing the committee with approximately $16.3 million in cash and $18.5 million in debt through the end of June, while the Republican National Committee holds more than $128 million and carries no debt. The DNC also reportedly putting its Washington headquarters up as collateral to secure a $15 million line of credit. The bulwark reporter Lauren Egan explaining Monday on MS Now why the committee's financial condition threatens its ability to perform its central role during a midterm election. The Democratic National Committee is going into August with $2 million in debt. That is pretty bad. I think there was some hope at the beginning of the year that Ken Martin was going to be able to turn this around that once we got into 2026, some of these big donors would come back to the table. And that clearly just hasn't happened in a very meaningful way. And the big concern now is that Ken Martin is essentially driving the DNC to irrelevance. The whole point of the DNC in a midterm year is to basically act as a bank and to give out money to the big party committees, the DS, the DS, the DTRIP. And Martin can't do that right now. So there is essentially no coordinated campaign going on amongst these party committees. And that is, again, the DNC's entire purpose is to do that in a midterm election year. So his relevance is just completely. gone down the toilet. And it's really not a great situation. Coming up, a deadly earthquake tearing through southwestern Japan, collapsing homes and a crowded shopping mall as crews searched for people still trapped in the wreckage. And former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's alleged drunk driving arrest caught on newly released body camera footage.

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The full scale of the disaster still emerging, as extreme summer heat complicates the search and leaves thousands of displaced residents sheltering without reliable electricity or running water. Sky News Asia correspondent Helen Ann Smith reporting on the scale of the rescue effort and the growing challenges facing communities across the disaster zone. And look, I think the authorities really throwing everything now at this rescue operation. In excess of 3.5,000 soldiers, 20 aircraft, some 300,000 people have been told to evacuate and sort of stay evacuated, stay in these... evacuation shelters. Because the authorities are really worried about aftershocks, this was a pretty shallow earthquake, only about 10 kilometres, and that means that the potential for afterquakes, aftershocks, is higher. They've already been around 60, apparently, albeit not particularly strong ones, but the concern is real there. And then there are around 50,000 homes without power, 140,000 without water. And that's been a real problem for the hospitals as well. Lots of reports of hospitals saying that they're... finding it difficult to get energy supplies, some of their equipment's damaged, they're trying to sort of relocate their patients to other places but there's not a whole lot of hospitals who are able to take them. Body camera footage from former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS broadcaster Tony Romo's alleged drunk driving arrest now public, a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy pulling Romo over on an interstate shortly after 6 p.m. on July 23rd, after allegedly watching him cross a white traffic line. Romo telling the deputy he was coming from a golf tournament and heading to meet his grandparents. The deputy then asking Romo how much he had to drink. How many drinks have you had? That's cool? You're coming from a golf course? I'm like a golf trip in Wisconsin State Avenue. Okay. So it's like a USGA event. Okay, alright. I'm gonna run you into some fields. It's happy. Field sobriety tips. Are you willing to take any food sobriety test?

Romo pulling out his phone and saying he planned to contact his attorney, the deputy telling him he could not make the call and ordering him out of the vehicle. The former quarterback then, placing his phone on the bumper of his truck to record the encounter himself. The stop unfolding along a busy bridge, prompting the deputy to handcuff Romo and explain they needed to relocate to safer, level ground. You're detained pending an OWI investigation. Deputy Corps, sir. Are you going to take me through it? So, as of right now, we're on a leveled ground. We're on a bridge. I want to convey you somewhere that's going to be a even surface, free of debris. Yes, I agree. So we don't get it. Turn around for me. The footage later picking up at the sheriff's station, where an officer cataloging Romo's belongings informs him that deputies found miniature liquor bottles inside his backpack. Romo responding, quote, yeah, any of them drank? I don't think any of them were drank, right? Romo then stretching before the field sobriety test, telling officers he had undergone multiple back surgeries and that riding in the back of the patrol car had aggravated his injuries. Upon completion of the tests, officers asking whether he would take a preliminary breath test. You are willing to submit to a PBT? What is that? Machine that you blow on. It does not determine the results of my test. Oh, no, we're not doing that. Okay. I've heard to hear it from all the lawyers. Don't ever do that. Okay. So, I'm not going to do that. Okay. All right. All right, sir. Did I pass this test? You turn around? No, I didn't. Can I use my phone real quick? Because there's a plane taking off my parents in there. You're under arrest for operating while under the influence, okay? The deputy then placing Romo under arrest, citing him for first offense operating while intoxicated. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office telling the California Post the allegation is being handled as a traffic violation rather than a criminal charge. Romo scheduled to appear in court on September 21st and has not yet publicly commented on the incident, the 46-year-old playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 2004 through 2016 before joining CBS as one of the network's lead NFL broadcasters. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of AfterParty. Go and check out more at afterpartyemily.com. Catch the Megyn Kelly show later today, live on SiriusXMs, the Megyn Kelly channel, 11 at noon east on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly and all podcast platforms.

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