Latest news with #NativeHawaiians
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Favorability Rating Falls With AAPI Adults
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's favorability among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults has dropped significantly over the past year, according to a new poll. The AAPI Data/AP‑NORC poll shows that the decline appears to be driven by economic concerns, particularly around tariffs and inflation, with many respondents expressing growing unease over Trump's policies and rhetoric. Newsweek contacted Trump's office via online form and AAPI Equity Alliance via email outside of usual working hours on Sunday for comment. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Prestwick, Scotland, on July 25, 2025. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Prestwick, Scotland, on July 25, It Matters The shift signals changing political dynamics in one of the fastest-growing voter groups in the United States. The AAPI electorate has become more politically engaged in recent election cycles, and although it is not a voting bloc that has historically shown strong support for Trump, growing skepticism toward him could influence key battlegrounds in the 2026 midterms and beyond. As reported by the Associated Press, the poll is part of an ongoing project aimed at examining the perspectives of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders—a demographic often underrepresented in national surveys because of limited sample sizes and insufficient linguistic accessibility. The data highlights how economic anxiety and policy perceptions are shaping voter attitudes among these traditionally underrepresented communities. What to Know The national poll, conducted from June 3 to 11, 2025, surveyed 1,130 AAPI adults and found that 71 percent now hold an unfavorable opinion of Trump, up from 60 percent in December 2024. The unfavorability spike is particularly pronounced among AAPI independents, where there has been a nearly 20-point increase this year. Economic concerns appear to be a major factor. About 80 percent of AAPI adults believe Trump's proposed tariff policies would raise consumer prices. Only 40 percent expect positive outcomes like increased U.S. manufacturing, and just 20 percent anticipate job growth. A significant 65 percent of respondents say they are "extremely" or "very" worried about the possibility of a recession, compared to a national average of 53 percent who said the same in an April AP-NORC survey, the Associated Press reported. The latest poll was conducted amid Trump's recurring threats to impose new tariffs, which he says are intended to address the nation's trade imbalance. In June, inflation rose to its highest level since February, with Trump's tariff policies contributing to increased prices om everyday items, including groceries and household appliances. What People Are Saying Michael Ida, a 56‑year‑old teacher from Hawaii, said, as reported by the Associated Press: "Here in Hawaii, because we're so isolated, everything comes on a ship or a plane. We're especially vulnerable to prices rising and disruptions in the supply chain. There's definitely some anxiety there." Shopan Hafiz, a 39‑year‑old engineer from Oregon, voiced concerns over tariffs, as reported by the Associated Press: "With all the tariffs, I don't think it's going to help. All the tariffs will ultimately be paid by U.S. nationals, and inflation is going to get worse." Hafiz's decision to vote for Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver last year was in part in opposition to the two major U.S. parties' support for Israel in its war in Gaza, which has so far killed over 56,000 Palestinians following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and led to some 250 being captured and held in captivity. Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of AAPI Data, said, referring to AAPI voters, as per Associated Press: "They are not seeing big economic benefits pan out. Quite the contrary—they're seeing big economic risks on the horizon based on Trump's actions on tariffs." What Happens Next With AAPI communities making up about 7 percent of the U.S. population—and growing fastest in several key swing states—these changing views could play a significant role in shaping electoral strategies for the Republican and Democratic parties. Analysts expect further polling, increased multilingual outreach, and renewed focus on economic messaging in AAPI engagement efforts ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential race.
Fox News
4 days ago
- Fox News
Ancient 'stick figures' on beach once again visible at tourist destination
Tourists and locals in Oahu, Hawaii, are once again able to view an ancient marvel. Hawaiian petroglyphs dating back at least half a millennium are visible for the first time in years, according to The Associated Press (AP). (See the video at the top of this article.) The stick figure-like etchings were revealed due to seasonal ocean swells that peel away sand that had been covering over two dozen images, AP reported. Petroglyphs are also known as kiʻi pōhaku. They're lava rock carvings etched into stone centuries ago made by Native Hawaiians, according to the Hawaii Island's government site. While researchers are not sure what the echings mean, it is believed they mark birth records or other important events. Carvings of human forms, canoes, turtles and other objects are pictured around the islands. In 2023, 9.6 million visitors traveled to Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Oahu is home to the state capitol of Honolulu and is the third largest and most populated island in Hawaii. The island of Oahu has two main extinct volcanoes, Waiʻanae and Koʻolau. They're responsible for forming the island.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Mark Zuckerberg's $65 million Kauai land grab is ruffling feathers in Hawaii. Here's why
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have quietly continued expanding their massive estate on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and neighbours are not particularly happy about it. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have quietly expanded their Kauai estate. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo(REUTERS) The couple recently purchased an additional 962 acres of ranch land for more than $65 million, bringing their total holdings on the island to over 2,300 acres. The property's estimated value is now around $75 million, per the New York Post. Zuckerberg's relationship with Kauai began back in 2014 when he started acquiring land on the lush island. ALSO READ| OpenAI hit hard? Zuckerberg reportedly poaches top AI experts from ChatGPT maker Zuckerberg's Hawaiian project hits a nerve with many locals Notably, in 2016, Zuckerberg filed a lawsuit against hundreds of Hawaiians to gain full control of small plots of land, known as kuleana lands, tucked within a 700-acre property he had purchased for $100 million. These kuleana lands, granted to Native Hawaiians in the 1800s, are often held in shared ownership by extended families, some of whom are unaware of their inheritance. Zuckerberg's companies filed eight 'quiet title' lawsuits. 'For most of these folks, they will now receive money for something they never even knew they had. No one will be forced off the land,' Zuckerberg said at the time, per CNBC. 'It is common in Hawaii to have small parcels of land within the boundaries of a larger tract, and for the title to these smaller parcels to have become broken or clouded over time,' his lawyer told CNBC, defending the move. 'Quiet title actions are the standard and prescribed process to identify all potential co-owners, determine ownership, and ensure that, if there are other co-owners, each receives appropriate value for their ownership share.' Some locals fear the expansion could limit access to ancestral burial sites. Julian Ako, a Native Hawaiian, told Wired, 'If they uncover iwi — or bones — it's going to be a challenge for that to ever become public knowledge.' Today, Zuckerberg's Koʻolau Ranch estate features two mansions, guest houses, treehouses, a gym, tennis court, agricultural areas, and even an underground storm shelter. Plans are in place for three more large buildings, totaling 16 bedrooms and bathrooms. ALSO READ| What is Larry Ellison's net worth? Oracle co-founder beats Bezos and Zuckerberg as world's second-richest person Spokesperson Brandi Hoffine Barr detailed that these new structures will serve as short-term housing for guests, friends, and staff. She added that much of the land is being used for agriculture and conservation, and that plans for luxury housing were scrapped.
Economic Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Trump's favorability fell among AAPI adults, poll finds
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A small but fast-growing group in the United States has soured somewhat on President Donald Trump this year, as they worry about high costs and fear that new tariff policies will further raise their expenses, a new poll percentage of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders with an unfavourable opinion of Trump rose to 71 per cent in July, from 60 per cent in December, according to a national survey by AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs AAPI adults who describe themselves as independent are especially likely to have cooled on the president. About 7 in 10 AAPI independents have a "very" or "somewhat" unfavourable opinion of Trump, up roughly 20 percentage points since poll is part of an ongoing project exploring the views of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, whose views are usually not highlighted in other surveys because of small sample sizes and lack of linguistic independents' unfavourable view of Trump is higher than his unfavourable rating among independent adults overall, which was 52 per cent in a June AP-NORC poll, having nudged slightly higher from 44 per cent in concerns could be playing a central role. About 8 in 10 AAPI adults expect Trump's tariff policies will increase the cost of consumer goods, the poll found, while only about 4 in 10 think those policies will boost domestic manufacturing and just 2 in 10 anticipate more US jobs as a result."To me, it seems like a lot of not-really-well-thought-out things that are happening," said Michael Ida, a 56-year-old independent in Hawaii who teaches high school advanced-placement calculus. "In the process, there's a lot of collateral damage and fallout that's hurting a lot of people." Ida was referring specifically to government spending cuts, including for adults represent a small segment of the US population, making up about 7 per cent of the nation's residents in 2023, according to a Pew Research Centre analysis of government data. Likewise, they are hardly a pro-Trump voting bloc generally. In last year's election, English-speaking Asian US voters shifted slightly toward Trump, but with only about a third supporting him, up from 29 per cent in 2020, according to AP new poll also suggests that they are especially likely to be worried about the economy's trajectory, and remain anxious about high two-thirds of AAPI adults, 65 per cent, say they are "extremely" or "very" concerned about the possibility of the US economy going into a recession, higher than the 53 per cent of Americans generally who said the same in an April AP-NORC survey."On the economy, you saw AAPI voters shift - not in a big way, but shift nonetheless - toward Trump" in the 2024 election, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of AAPI Data and researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. "They are not seeing big economic benefits pan out. Quite the contrary, they are seeing big economic risks on the horizon based on Trump's action on tariffs."Shopan Hafiz, a 39-year-old independent engineer at Intel in Oregon, described his view of Trump as "very unfavourable," and bemoaned the Republican president's tariff policy, which he expected to hit American consumers harder in the coming months."With all the tariffs, I don't think it's going to help," Hafiz said. "All the tariffs will ultimately be paid by US nationals, and inflation is going to get worse."The poll comes in the midst of Trump's on-and-off threats to impose tariffs for what he says is his goal of levelling the nation's trade imbalance. Inflation rose in June to its highest level since February as Trump's tariffs pushed up the cost of household goods, from groceries to prices rose 2.7 per cent in June from a year earlier, the Labour Department said last week, up from an annual increase of 2.4 per cent in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3per cent from May to June, after rising just 0.1 per cent the previous Hafiz, Ida, the teacher in Hawaii, did not vote for Trump last year. Instead, both voted for Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver. Hafiz's decision was in opposition to the two major US parties' support for Israel in its war in Gaza. Ida said the two major parties had become "too extreme."Ida is among the roughly two-thirds of AAPI adults who say they are at least "very concerned" about the cost of groceries. He's noticed fear of higher prices in his Pacific island state, and even more within the ethnic businesses, in light of Hawaii's reliance on shipped goods."Here in Hawaii, because we're so isolated, everything comes on a ship or a plane," he said. "We're especially vulnerable to prices rising and disruptions in the supply chain. There's definitely some anxiety there."
San Francisco Chronicle
7 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Army secretary wants to move more quickly on an agreement for Hawaii live-fire training lands
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (AP) — The U.S. Army's top civilian leader said Tuesday that he wants to move more quickly on an agreement that will allow the military to continue using the only large-scale live-fire training range for ground forces in Hawaii. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he discussed the issue during a meeting with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Monday. The Army leases a key part of Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island from the state, and its contract to do so expires in 2029. It wants to be able to continue using the land so it can quickly send troops from Hawaii to Asia and the Pacific, something that is growing in importance as China becomes more assertive particularly regarding Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory. A May public hearing on whether to extend the lease generated hours of testimony against allowing the Army to stay. Many Native Hawaiians and environmental activists upset with the U.S. military's history of damaging Hawaiian lands with target practice and fuel leaks said they wanted the Army to return the land to the state. Driscoll told reporters the Army needs the Pohakuloa land, which sits on a rocky plateau about 6,200 feet (1,890 meters) above sea level between the Big Island's tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. 'The world is changing. We all know this. The threat in Indo-Pacom is more real than ever before,' Driscoll told reporters, referring to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which overseas military operations in Asia and the Pacific. He said he wanted a more aggressive timeline 'to bake out these negotiations in the coming months, rather than waiting until 2027, 2028 and 2029.' 'This land matters to the United States Army. We have got to be able to train here.' Driscoll said. Driscoll said he asked Green's office for a list within the next few weeks of things the Army can do to help the community. 'What we are hoping to do is figure out ways where we, the Army, can continue to contribute to a community that has given so much to our Army and so much to our nation, while at the same time acknowledging the very real world threat that we are facing in the Indo-Pacific,' Driscoll said. The Army says other live-fire training areas in Hawaii are too small to accommodate battalions and brigades. And commanders say they wouldn't be able to deter potential adversaries in the Indo-Pacific if they have to spend extra time transporting troops to the region from U.S. mainland training ranges. Green said he spent significant time on Monday speaking with Driscoll and his team. "We will be exploring possibilities on the military leases together in the coming days and weeks, and he now better understands how important it is to us to work together for the good of Hawaii's people and our land, while we all work together protect our country,' Green said in a statement. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat whose district includes rural Oahu and the Big Island, has said she wants the military to help increase Hawaii's housing supply and bolster Hawaii's water and sewer infrastructure. Healani Sonoda-Pale, a community organizer with the Native Hawaiian sovereignty group Ka Lahui Hawaii, said the state needs to look at how the Army is managing these lands. She said it would be irresponsible for negotiations to bypass that process. 'There shouldn't be any backdoor discussions regarding these leases,' she said. Driscoll visited Hawaii during a Pacific trip that will also include stops in Australia and the Philippines. He spoke to journalists in front of two HIMARS rocket launchers, which are designed to deliver precision strikes to long-range targets. Hawaii-based soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division are due to receive 16 of the launchers, which the U.S. also supplied to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia's invasion.
