Trump’s Approval Rating Hits New Low, and Ebola Outbreak Declared a Global Health Emergency

Summary

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The Headlines (The New York Times)

Episode: Trump’s Approval Rating Hits New Low, and Ebola Outbreak Declared a Global Health Emergency

Date: May 18, 2026
Host: Will Jarvis (in for Tracy Mumford)

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Episode Overview

This episode provides a succinct briefing on key global and national stories:

• President Trump’s record-low approval rating amid widespread disapproval of his policies and ongoing dominance in the Republican Party
• The World Health Organization's declaration of Ebola as a global health emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• A look at new U.S. negotiations with Greenland
• The consequences of Trump's mass deportation campaign
• The rising trend of birdwatching tourism in Colombia and its impact on conservation

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Main Stories & Key Insights

1. Trump’s Approval Rating Plummets

[00:39–03:21]

• Approval at a Record Low:
  • According to a Times Siena poll, Trump’s job approval is just 37%, a 4-point drop since January—the lowest since taking office.
  • Disapproval is especially high on the economy (64%) and the war in Iran (65%).
• Voters' Personal Impact:
  • Increasing numbers perceive Trump’s policies as personally harmful.
  • Quote (Missouri cleaning company owner): “I just want my family to live a good, healthy life… I didn’t want to constantly pay more and more and more for food and other essentials.” [01:37]
• Party Dynamics:
  • While Republicans largely still support Trump, he's tightening his grip; primary defeats for critics reinforce his influence.
  • In Louisiana, Senator Bill Cassidy—who voted to convict Trump after Jan. 6—lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
  • Quote (Trump, social media): “Cassidy’s disloyalty was now a ‘part of legend.’” [02:37]
  • Similar purges occurred in Indiana, targeting lawmakers who crossed him.
  • Concern is rising among strategists about Trump’s unpopularity threatening Republican chances in swing districts.
  • The next test: Rep. Thomas Massie’s Kentucky primary after his criticism of the White House.

2. Updates from the Trump Administration

[03:30–05:32]

• Mass Deportation Campaign:
  • New analysis (Brookings Institution): Over 100,000 children separated from parents (mostly U.S. citizens).
  • Underreported government figures; many children left with relatives or neighbors, straining already vulnerable households.
  • Schools/legal aid groups now help immigrant parents appoint caregivers.
  • Quote (legal aid head): “I hear from mothers who’ve been separated from their children almost every day.” [04:21]
• Negotiations Over Greenland:
  • U.S. has pursued talks to acquire increased control/ownership over Greenland, seen as crucial for security.
  • Although publicly backing off “seizure” rhetoric, the U.S. presses for extended military rights and veto over outside investments (notably from China and Russia).
  • Tension with local Greenland lawmakers over sovereignty.
  • Quote (Greenland MP): “We might as well raise our own flag halfway.” [05:32]

3. Ebola Declared a Global Health Emergency

[05:42–07:37]

• Current Situation:
  • Over 300 suspected cases, nearly 90 deaths; cases confirmed in Uganda; virus strain has no specific treatment or vaccine, fatality rate 25–50%.
  • Virus spreads through direct contact; outbreak centered in Ituri, northeastern Congo.
• Context & Complications:
  • Outbreak occurs in an area under martial law due to insurgent violence—a region with strained public trust and fragile health infrastructure.
  • Quote (Matthew Bigg, NYT East Africa bureau chief):
    “Trust in the authorities is a critical factor in containing the spread. But the other thing is obviously in a state of siege, healthcare services and healthcare facilities are not as strong as they need to be.” [07:00]
  • U.S. role hampered—USAID, which led prior Ebola responses, was shuttered last year by the Trump administration.

4. Avian Tourism Boom in Colombia

[07:49–09:12]

• Birding Apps Spark Tourism:
  • Apps like Merlin and eBird have made Colombia—previously overlooked—a global hotspot for birders.
  • Merlin has nearly 40 million downloads; eBird data shows Colombia with nearly 2,000 recorded species.
• Economic & Environmental Impact:
  • Many Colombians, including former loggers, are shifting to eco-tourism as hosting birdwatchers becomes lucrative.
  • Quote (Colombian property owner):
    “[We] spent years… using chainsaws to cut down their trees to make charcoal. But now, she says, she stopped to try and keep the birds and the tourists around.” [09:06]
  • Hope is that this tourism trend incentivizes conservation and habitat protection.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I just want my family to live a good, healthy life… I didn’t want to constantly pay more and more and more for food and other essentials.” — Missouri business owner on policy impact [01:37]
• “Cassidy’s disloyalty was now a… part of legend.” — President Trump, on ousting critics [02:37]
• “I hear from mothers who’ve been separated from their children almost every day.” — Legal aid group head [04:21]
• “We might as well raise our own flag halfway.” — Greenland MP on U.S. demands [05:32]
• “Trust in the authorities is a critical factor in containing the spread. But the other thing is obviously in a state of siege, healthcare services and healthcare facilities are not as strong as they need to be.” — Matthew Bigg, NYT East Africa bureau chief [07:00]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trump Approval & Republican Party Dynamics: [00:39–03:21]
• Mass Deportations & Child Separation: [03:30–04:21]
• U.S./Greenland Relations: [04:21–05:32]
• Ebola Outbreak/Epidemiology & U.S. Aid Withdrawal: [05:42–07:37]
• Colombia’s Birdwatching Tourism Boom: [07:49–09:12]

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Tone:
Straightforward, analytical, and observant—a characteristic blend of The New York Times' reporting style, with moments of personal testimony, expert analysis, and a focus on consequential policy impacts.

Transcript

[Deloitte Narrator]

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[Will Jarvis]

from the new York

[New York Times Reporter]

Times, it's the headlines.

[Will Jarvis]

I'm Will Jarvis in for Tracy Mumford.

[New York Times Reporter]

Today's Monday, May 18th.

[Will Jarvis]

Here's what we're covering. President Trump's approval rating in his second term has reached a record low. According to a Times Siena poll released this morning, just 37% of voters approve of how Trump is handling his job as president.

[New York Times Reporter]

That's less than at any point since

[Will Jarvis]

he took office last year. Trump's approval rating has dropped 4 points since January alone, and a majority of

[New York Times Reporter]

voters seem deeply skeptical of how he's handling some of the country's most pressing issues. For example, 64% of voters disapprove of how he's handled the economy, and 65% say they disapprove of how he's handled

[Will Jarvis]

the war in Iran. More broadly, a growing number of voters say that Trump's policies are hurting them personally. The owner of a cleaning company in

[New York Times Reporter]

Missouri told the Times he voted for Trump in 2020 and 2024, but said he was, in his words, very pissed

[Will Jarvis]

off with the president's decision to attack Iran.

[New York Times Reporter]

He said, quote, I just want my family to live a good, healthy life, adding that he didn't want to constantly

[Will Jarvis]

pay more and more and more for food and other essentials.

[New York Times Reporter]

Still, Republicans broadly approve of Trump's job performance and how he's handled the war. And this weekend, there was more evidence

[Will Jarvis]

that the president has continued to keep

[New York Times Reporter]

a tight grasp on when you participate

[Commentator]

in democracy, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you want it to.

[New York Times Reporter]

In Louisiana on Saturday, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who's clashed with the president, lost his primary election to a Trump backed candidate.

[Commentator]

But you don't pout, you don't whine, you don't claim the election was stolen. You don't find a reason why.

[New York Times Reporter]

Cassidy was one of a small handful

[Will Jarvis]

of Republicans who voted to convict Trump

[New York Times Reporter]

in his impeachment trial after January 6th. In the years since, Cassidy tried to repair the relationship.

[Will Jarvis]

But Trump kept vowing to oust him,

[New York Times Reporter]

and the president celebrated this weekend's results on social media, writing that Cassidy's disloyalty

[Will Jarvis]

was now a quote, part of legend.

[New York Times Reporter]

Cassidy's defeat marks the second time this month that Republican primary voters have sent a message about defying the president. In Indiana, a group of state lawmakers Trump had targeted over a failed redistricting

[Will Jarvis]

effort lost their primary elections.

[New York Times Reporter]

One GOP consultant told the Times that

[Will Jarvis]

Trump's power over the party could potentially backfire in the midterms, with swing district Republicans wanting space from an increasingly unpopular

[New York Times Reporter]

president but worrying about how Trump himself might react. For the moment, the next big test

[Will Jarvis]

of Trump's sway will come tomorrow, when

[New York Times Reporter]

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who's criticized the White House over the Epstein files in the war in Iran, will face voters in a primary election in Kentucky.

[Expert/Analyst]

Foreign.

[Will Jarvis]

Now two quick updates on the Trump administration. First, a new analysis estimates that President Trump's mass deportation campaign has separated more than 100,000 children from their parents.

[New York Times Reporter]

A vast majority of those kids are

[Will Jarvis]

US Citizens, according to the report from the Brookings Institution.

[New York Times Reporter]

The report suggests that federal statistics about

[Will Jarvis]

family separations have been an undercount.

[New York Times Reporter]

The Department of Homeland Security says that

[Will Jarvis]

when parents are detained, they're given a

[New York Times Reporter]

leave the US with their children or place them with someone legally in the country. According to experts, many of those kids

[Will Jarvis]

end up living with older siblings, other family members or neighbors, sometimes putting a strain on households that are already struggling to get by.

[New York Times Reporter]

Around the country, many schools and legal aid groups have been helping immigrants appoint a caregiver for their kids in case they get detained. The head of one group said she

[Will Jarvis]

hears from mothers who've been separated from their children, quote, almost every day. And the Times has learned that for the past four months, the US has been quietly negotiating over the future of Greenland earlier this year.

[Expert/Analyst]

All we're asking for is to get Greenland, including right title and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it.

[Will Jarvis]

President Trump said he was ready to seize the island, which is partly controlled by Denmark, claiming it was crucial for national security.

[New York Times Reporter]

While he's backed off those public threats

[Will Jarvis]

behind closed doors, US Officials have pushed forward on talks with Greenland and Denmark.

[New York Times Reporter]

Among other things, the US has been

[Will Jarvis]

trying to extend a long standing military

[New York Times Reporter]

arrangement to allow US Troops to stay in Greenland indefinitely. And the Trump administration wants effective veto power over any major investment deals there to potentially box out countries like Russia and China. While Greenland's prime minister said he's open to working with the US on some

[Will Jarvis]

issues, other politicians there are warning that if all the American demands are agreed to, it would be a blow to the island's sovereignty. One member of parliament said, quote, we

[New York Times Reporter]

might as well raise our own flag halfway.

[WHO Representative]

Who will continue working to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo to bring this Ebola outbreak under control.

[Will Jarvis]

In Congo, the World Health Organization has declared that the spread of the deadly Ebola virus is a global health emergency.

[New York Times Reporter]

As of yesterday, there have been reports

[Will Jarvis]

of more than 300 suspected cases, including

[New York Times Reporter]

nearly 90 deaths, according to American health officials. And some cases have also been confirmed in neighboring Uganda. The rare type of the Ebola virus

[Will Jarvis]

that's spreading has no targeted vaccine or treatment and has a mortality rate of 25 to 50%.

[New York Times Reporter]

It spreads through contact with bodily fluids and contaminated objects like clothing and medical equipment.

[Expert/Analyst]

The outbreak was declared in Ituri region, northeastern Congo, and that is a particularly troubled place.

[New York Times Reporter]

Matthew Bigg is the Times East Africa bureau chief.

[Will Jarvis]

He says that the part of Congo where cases have been spreading has been in political turmoil.

[New York Times Reporter]

A few years ago, following attacks by

[Will Jarvis]

insurgent groups there, the country's president launched a widespread crackdown in the region, declaring

[New York Times Reporter]

a state of siege, effectively martial law.

[Expert/Analyst]

All of that has fractured the relationship between the government and the population. And that matters because trust in the authorities is a critical factor in containing the spread. But the other thing is obviously in a state of siege, healthcare services and healthcare facilities are not as strong as they need to be. And that, of course, makes the task of combating the outbreak much more difficult.

[New York Times Reporter]

Matt says there's another factor that could potentially complicate the response to the Ebola

[Will Jarvis]

cases, the Trump administration's push to slash foreign aid.

[New York Times Reporter]

USAID was a key player in containing previous Ebola outbreaks in Africa, but the

[Will Jarvis]

White House shuttered the department last year.

[New York Times Reporter]

And finally, in Colombia, the Times has

[Will Jarvis]

been reporting on how a new tourism industry in the country has been sparked by apps for bird watchers. Birders have long traveled around the world

[New York Times Reporter]

to get a glimpse of rare or spectacular species.

[Will Jarvis]

It's known as avian.

[New York Times Reporter]

Tourism and Colombia used to lag behind

[Will Jarvis]

other countries when it came to birding. But in recent years, more and more people have been learning about the country's remarkable biodiversity. And as the birding apps Merlin and ebird have become hugely popular, for example, nearly 40 million people have downloaded Merlin,

[New York Times Reporter]

which lets you identify and make lists of birds you've seen.

[Will Jarvis]

And on ebird, the map of Colombia is bright red, showing that close to

[New York Times Reporter]

2,000 bird species have been recorded there. And basically beckoning people to come spot

[Will Jarvis]

an Andean emerald hummingbird or a red

[New York Times Reporter]

headed barbet for themselves to keep up with the new wave of apt toting

[Will Jarvis]

avian tourists, many Colombians are now turning to the birding business, gearing up to host visitors from around the world.

[New York Times Reporter]

Some local bird enthusiasts say they hope

[Will Jarvis]

that will help preserve the country's environment

[New York Times Reporter]

by creating an incentive to protect habitats for the species that live in them.

[Will Jarvis]

One woman who hosts birders on her property in northern Colombia told the Times that she and her husband spent years

[New York Times Reporter]

using chainsaws to cut down their trees to make charcoal. But now, she says, she stopped to

[Will Jarvis]

try and keep the birds and the tourists around. Those are the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis. The show will be back tomorrow.