On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Paula Newton, filling in for Christiane Amanpour on PBS’s Amanpour and Company, opened the program by discussing the upcoming midterm elections and President Donald Trump’s efforts to prevent Democrats from taking control of Congress.
Newton told viewers:
“In virtually every corner of the globe, people are tuned into the American elections, eagerly awaiting to see which direction voters will take the most powerful country on earth.”
Why are people all over the globe so eager to see which direction American voters will take?
For many decades, foreign governments, multinational corporations, criminal organizations, and corrupt regimes have taken advantage of American policies that put foreign interests ahead of American citizens. From unfair trade arrangements and the loss of American jobs to cheap foreign labor, to illegal immigration, human trafficking, and international criminal networks, too many have benefited from America’s generosity and weaknesses in its laws and enforcement. Trump is challenging the globalist system.
With just one week remaining before Election Day on November 3, Newton turned to the cost of living and Trump’s approval ratings.
“Cost of living concerns rank as voters’ most important issue, and Trump’s approval rating is landing at historic lows in poll after poll.”
Wedgewood Polling admitted on October 20, 2026, that nearly all its published polls were fabricated, including surveys favoring Democratic candidates. The New York Times removed 15 of its surveys, while Decision Desk HQ and Silver Bulletin also removed its data.
The New York Times included 15 Wedgewood surveys in its polling tracker before removing them following the company’s admission. Decision Desk HQ and Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin also removed the firm’s polling data.
Newton then introduced a report by CNN senior investigative correspondent Kyung Lah, who traveled all the way to Nevada to interview Javier Barajas, a Las Vegas restaurant owner whose business Trump visited during his 2024 presidential campaign to promote his No Tax on Tips proposal.
She said very seriously:
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Barajas expressed frustration with the economy:
“Why? Why things don’t get better? We go backwards. Everything is worse.”
Lah told viewers:
“It’s been two years since Trump made those promises, and they’ve become policy.”
Trump hasn’t even been back in office for two years. He returned to the White House on January 20, 2025. As of October 27, 2026, he has been president for just one year, nine months, and seven days. His No Tax on Tips policy was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law on July 4, 2025, just one year, three months, and 23 days earlier.
As for Barajas, Trump cannot fix every economic problem overnight. Nevada’s minimum wage increased to $12 an hour in July 2024. Restaurant owners must pay tipped employees that full hourly wage before tips.
Nevada has a statewide sales tax rate of 6.85%. In Las Vegas, additional local taxes bring the combined rate to 8.375%. According to the Tax Foundation, Nevada ranks 13th highest nationwide for average combined state and local sales taxes. Those state and local taxes deserve attention, too.
Notice how PBS focuses on a business owner complaining about Trump’s economy, but where are the interviews with business owners struggling under high state and local taxes, costly regulations, and other government-imposed expenses? Why don’t those policies ever get blamed for high prices?
And where is the report highlighting a restaurant employee who benefits from Trump’s No Tax on Tips policy? Why not show viewers how much eligible workers can save under the legislation? Instead, this segment focuses on financial struggles only.
Trump has been back in office for just one year and nine months, and many of his policies have been in effect for even less time. Reversing decades of America-last economic policy takes time. These changes won’t happen overnight.
And while they’re at it, why don’t Kyung Lah, Paula Newton, and PBS devote a segment to crime in Las Vegas? According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, homicides fell 21.7%, violent crime declined 4.3%, and property crime dropped 9.4% in 2025.
Why not report on those developments instead of focusing exclusively on a restaurant owner complaining about the economy?
Because you can’t complain about President Trump on PBS if you’re dead.
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