Dire polling for Trump’s economy and war in Iran could spell trouble for the Republican Party as it aims to keep control of both chambers of Congress

• Key US voters say economy is getting worse, poll finds

• Q&A: Will Trump’s economy sink the GOP in the midterms?

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

The US government could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a media campaign in South Africa to figure out why more white Afrikaners are not applying to become refugees to the US, as Donald Trump had hoped.

State department officials, according to an August proposal seen by the Guardian, outlined a roughly $335,000 research and advertising effort after applications to the refugee program “trended lower than expected” since Afrikaners were allowed to apply directly online in November 2025. The document, written by the US mission in South Africa with a department research unit for the embassy in Pretoria, admits officials know little about why.