Politics and views in the United States

President Trump threatens to annihilate Iran at U.N. General Assembly, Justice Department leaders say they’re focusing on “election integrity,” and new polls show wide-ranging distrust in government.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?

Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?

Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic?

President Donald Trump is again threatening to bomb Iran amid stalled negotiations in the seven-month war.

On the first day of the UN General Assembly, he claimed the U.S. halted Iran's nuclear program, though intelligence suggests the program has survived the attacks.

The war has hurt both economies, although Tehran seems willing to let people suffer, while inflation angers American voters.

A former Utah postal worker has been arrested for destroying 300 June mail-in primary votes.

The Justice Department cites this as justification for strict absentee ballot limits proposed by Trump, currently blocked by the courts and stalled in Congress.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter says election integrity should be a nonpartisan issue.

The right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election.

But the actions of even one malicious actor on the ground can fatally undercut that security.

But critics say the rules would do nothing to actually improve election security and could suppress the votes of millions.

Speaking at a forum on protecting the right to vote, Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Mary Gay Scanlon says the Trump administration is attacking free and fair elections.

With phony claims about election integrity, by defunding the watchdogs and systems that protect our elections, and by trying to restrict access to the ballot with 21st century voter suppression tools like the SAVE Act.

As the midterms approach, PNS is highlighting important polls.

A new Partnership for Public Service survey finds distrust in the federal government is high and increasing.

Nearly 60% say they don't trust Washington, up almost 10 points over last year.

Report author Paul Hitland says one big issue is nonpartisan government functions becoming politicized.

Politics and elected officials are broadly unpopular, particularly Congress.

So that's one challenge people in the government have, is to have the public understand the government is much greater than elected officials.

But he says people respect civil servants and are generally satisfied with individual interactions.

Hitland says better communication and transparency could rebuild broader trust.

Vice President J.D. Vance's anti-fraud task force is canceling subsidy payments for three-quarters of a million Americans with Affordable Care Act insurance.

But a government accountability office reports as the administration reinstated 850 agents and brokers suspected of ACA fraud.

Brad Woodhouse with Protect Our Care calls the task force a smokescreen for kicking people off coverage, even after last year's tax and budget megabill cut premium support.

At a time when millions of Americans are already losing coverage and facing skyrocketing costs, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump are making the crisis worse.

They're piling on more red tape, more confusion, and more opportunities for people to lose the coverage they rely on.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.