Sir David Beckham’s 51st birthday was marked by a heartfelt tribute from his wife, Victoria Beckham, who hailed him as the “kindest most generous soul”.
The fashion designer and Spice Girl shared her message as the football legend received an outpouring of love from friends and family across Instagram on Saturday. However, his eldest son, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, remained conspicuously silent online, amid reports of an ongoing family feud.
Posh Spice shared a carousel of photographs of Sir David on Instagram and said: “You are our world, our everything.
“We love you so much!!! Happy birthday to the best husband, daddy, son, brother, and friend.
“To the kindest most generous soul. We will spoil you all day!!!! Nobody deserves it more than you.”
The celebrity couple, also known as Posh and Becks, have four children together, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.
Lady Beckham also posted a video of Sir David carrying two boxes containing chickens which she said were birthday gifts “from the boys”.
Their son Romeo posted on his story a photograph of the two together with the caption “Happy birthday dad love you so much thank u for everything you do” followed by another post of the pair together which said “my best mate”.
(left to right) Mia Regan, Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Harper Beckham, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz arrive for the premiere of Netflix’s documentary series Beckham at the Curzon Mayfair in London (Ian West/PA) (PA Wire)
Cruz also posted a story to mark their dad’s 51st birthday, with Harper sharing a heartfelt tribute which said: “Happy birthday to the best daddy in the whole world. I honestly could never ask for a better role model too.
“You are always here for me and I will always be here for you too anything anywhere. Have the best day ever, you deserve everything.”
Their eldest, Brooklyn, was the only child who did not post a birthday message online.
It comes after he shared an explosive statement earlier this year saying he did not want to “reconcile” with his family and accusing Sir David and Lady Beckham of prioritising “Brand Beckham” over all else and controlling narratives in the press.
Colombian superstar Shakira gave a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, an event that the city’s mayor said drew 2 million people to one of the world’s most iconic waterfronts.
The performance followed similar shows by Madonna in 2024 and Lady Gaga last year, which also were attended by huge crowds that danced on the sprawling sands. For Shakira, it was part of her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” or “Women No Longer Cry,” world tour named after her 2024 album.
Shakira’s set kicked off around 11 p.m., more than an hour after the scheduled slot, to her fans screaming with excitement and frantic applause as skywriting drones flew overhead, spelling out in the sky, “I love you Brazil” in Portuguese.
The megastar spoke fondly about the first time she came to Brazil, some three decades ago.
“I arrived here when I was 18 years old, dreaming about singing for you,” Shakira told the crowd shortly after coming on stage. “And now look at this. Life is magical.”
The much-loved pop star sang fan favorites such as “Hips Don’t Lie,” “La Tortura” and “La Bicicleta.” She ended with “BZRP Music Sessions #53/66,” which followed her separation from Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué.
She also took the time to celebrate women’s resilience during the show. “Us women, every time we fall we get up a little wiser,” she said.
One of the first places where Shakira became successful
Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said on social media that 2 million people attended the performance. “The She-Wolf made history in Rio,” he posted, referring to Shakira’s 2009 hit.
When Shakira first performed in Brazil in the 1990s, she established an amazing connection with the Brazilian public, according to Felipe Maia, an ethnomusicologist pursuing a doctoral degree in popular music and digital technologies at Paris Nanterre University.
That success in Brazil “has a lot to do with the fact that she comes from Colombia, a country whose culture has many similarities with Brazil,” Maia said, adding that Saturday’s performance “crowns the relationship she has had with Brazil for a very long time.”
Erica Monteiro, a 38-year-old accountant, said she has listened to Shakira since childhood.
“For me she represents the strength of our Latino community,” Monteiro said ahead of the concert. “We’re treated as if we were inferior but in fact we have much more strength.”
Heading home after Saturday’s show, Hellem Souza da Silva said Shakira’s performance, like Bad Bunny’s concerts in Sao Paulo in February, helped consolidate Brazil’s Latino identity.
These artists “are making it clear that Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and other countries are part of Latin America. And that America is not the United States,” she said.
Crowds started piling onto the beach Saturday morning to nab a good spot for the show. Street vendors sold sweet corn and other Brazilian snacks, bottled water and caipirinhas, the popular Brazilian cocktail, but also toilet paper, deodorant and even bags of sand for concertgoers to stand on to get a better view of the stage set up opposite Copacabana Palace, a historic luxury hotel.
Street vendor Simone Paula da Cunha arrived on the beach on Friday evening, hoping to sell all the beer and water bottles she had bought ahead of the show and make about $100 in all.
Despite being tired, da Cunha was excited at the prospect of seeing Shakira live. “I remember her from when she still had black hair,” she said. “I’m a huge fan of hers.”
An effort to boost the city’s post-Carnival economy
The free concerts are part of City Hall’s attempt to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Year’s Eve festivities and before the monthlong Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.
“For us, parties are serious business. Because parties generate jobs, income, development, and identity for the city,” Cavaliere, the mayor, said on Wednesday as he presented the city’s operational plan for the event. “Our investment in this show will give us a financial return 40 times greater,” he said.
Shakira’s performance could generate around 777 million reais (around $155 million), according to a study by City Hall and Riotur, the municipality’s tourism company, thanks to the influx of tourists and cash spent in restaurants, hotels and shops.
More tourists headed to Rio in the month of May in the years with shows — 2024 and 2025 — compared to 2023, according to City Hall data. In 2024, the growth was 34.2% on May 1, just ahead of the concerts, compared to the previous year. In 2025, the increase was 90.5% compared to 2023.
Amid last year’s concert with Lady Gaga, Rio de Janeiro’s state police arrested two people for an alleged bomb plot. Police said the two arrested were allegedly part of a group that was spreading hate speech against the LGBTQ community, and they sought to radicalize and recruit teenagers to carry out attacks using Molotov cocktails and improvised explosives.
Ahead of Shakira’s performance, Airbnb said in an April 22 statement that it was seeing an increase in guests expected to travel from different parts of Brazil, Latin America and even European capitals such as Paris and London.
Wanderson Andrade, a 30-year-old architect, said he flew in especially for the show from the city of Goiana in central Brazil on Saturday and planned to fly back the following day.
“I tried to get tickets to see her in Brazil last year but I didn’t succeed,” said Andrade, whose first tattoo is a wolf in honor of Shakira. “Today is a dream come true.”
Emma Bryson, a senior associate within Michelmores’ disputed wills and estates team, has identified four common omissions that frequently escape people’s minds during the will-writing process.
Addressing these often-forgotten elements could pre-empt considerable confusion and stress for loved ones further down the line.
1) Alternative or replacement beneficiaries
(Alamy/PA)
Clearly naming alternative or replacement beneficiaries in your will is a sensible back-up plan that most of us forget to do.
“If the donee, who is the recipient of the gift under the will, dies before the testator [the person who makes a legally valid will], and there isn’t a replacement beneficiary, then that gift will fail and that legacy will fall into the residue,” explains Bryson.
“That means it will fall into the pot of everything else that’s left in the estate, and that might not be what the testator wanted.”
Get a free fractional share worth up to £100. Capital at risk.
You aren’t legally obligated to name alternative or replacement beneficiaries in your will, but it’s usually advised by solicitors.
“If you don’t name an alternative or replacement beneficiary, there are obviously some risks, because if they die before you, you then lose control as to what happens with that gift,” advises Bryson.
2) Funeral and burial wishes
Outlining your funeral and burial wishes in your will can help reduce stress for your loved ones by providing clear guidance for arrangements (Getty/iStock)
Outlining your funeral and burial wishes in your will can help reduce stress for your loved ones by providing clear guidance for arrangements.
“We think it’s really important for a testator making their will to think about if they would like to be buried or cremated and how they’d like that to take place,” says Bryson.
“Often this may have been communicated verbally to relatives or friends, but there’s always a risk that those relatives might forget, or they may have pre-deceased the testator, meaning that the testator’s funeral or burial wishes might not be put into effect.”
However, she notes that funeral and burial wishes are not legally binding.
“They are just wishes, so you cannot bind somebody or compel your executor to carry out your funeral and burial wishes in a certain way,” explains Bryson.
“However, they are still really important because if there is ever a dispute about who the executors are or how that person should be buried or cremated, then the court will consider the deceased’s wishes as one of the factors when deciding what should happen.”
Many people outline their funeral and burial wishes near the start of their last will and testament.
“There’s no set specific place for a funeral or burial wishes to be included in a will, but usually you see them included at the start, after the testator’s name and address,” says Bryson.
3) Execution of a will
Enlisting the help of a solicitor can help make this process smoother (Alamy/PA)
When sorting out something as important as a will, following all the protocols and getting all the fiddly bits of admin right matters.
“The execution of a will is very particular. If something’s not quite right regarding how the will is signed and witnessed, then the will be completely invalid,” says Bryson. “For a will to be valid it must be signed by the testator who intended by their signature to give effect to the will.
“It also must be made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, and each witness must attest and sign the will or acknowledge their signature in the presence of the testator.
“If any of those things don’t happen, then you don’t have a valid execution. So, it’s very specific and often people get it wrong, unfortunately.”
This is why it can be helpful to seek professional guidance about this.
“You will have more of a safety net for this if your will is prepared professionally and is executed by the testator in the presence of their solicitor,” says Bryson.
4) Digital assets
It is important to note what digital assets like cryptocurrency you have
“Digital assets are often overlooked in wills but are really important to consider because we’re in an increasingly digital age,” says Bryson.
“When you’re making a will, I think it’s more common for people to think about their physical assets like their house, jewellery, properties etc, but I think it’s really important to also think about digital assets – like cryptocurrency, online businesses, social media accounts and websites – if you want pass these to a certain beneficiary or a particular person.
“Especially if you have more of a social media presence, you might want to pass your Instagram account, for example, onto somebody.”
The culinary director of Gaucho, the celebrated Argentinian steak brand known for its grilled beef since 1994, harbours a surprising secret: he didn’t always enjoy meat.
French-born chef Anthony Ekizian, who has called London home for two decades, was far from carnivorous in his youth.
If forced to consume it, he recalls, “it was well done”.
His journey into the world of high dining was equally serendipitous; leaving school at 16 without a clear path, he found himself working at Saint Tropez’s exclusive Club 55. “I really didn’t choose to be a chef,” he admits, yet somehow, meat ultimately found its way to him.
Chef Anthony Ekizian at Gaucho in central London (PA)
“When I started as an apprentice, there were some steaks on the grill, on the wood fire. I remember the [team was] showing me. I was just putting vegetables next to it, I was observing, and the head chef there was talking to me about cuts. I didn’t know anything really about it, but he cooked it rare, I remember it was very rare inside.” And that was it, he became a meat lover.
Since then, Ekizian has travelled the world, worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, including in Cannes, and now heads up Gaucho, for whom he has written a new cookbook, Gaucho: The Spirit Of Argentina: A Cookbook. The title is a bit of a mouthful but inside, essays on the history of the Gaucho (traditional Argentinian cattle herders) and the incredible landscapes they rear their cows on, sit alongside recipes for steak that go beyond a slab of meat and fries (although, it doesn’t knock the basics in the least).
So what are Ekizian’s quick, foolproof tips for getting steak right at home?
The major mistake home cooks make when it comes to steak…
It comes way before you even start cooking. “[They] buy the wrong quality of beef. You need to buy quality,” says Ekizian. “I know there’s some good supermarkets, but beef in the supermarket is never really good. It’s not just that, we need to also support our farmers and individual businesses, like butchers and farms. It needs to be about quality, the right product from the beginning.”
He says there’s incredible British beef available, although, it may not quite compete with Argentinian cows. “You go to Argentina and the beef is exceptional. Everything is kilometres and kilometres of pampas grass and hills, and you have these cows moving every day to a different patch to eat different types of grass or herbs. They are just outside. There’s no barn. They’re like wild cows, really, and when you get that, it’s gonna be great.”
Don’t be swayed by trendy cuts
“For me, the perfect steak is obviously a cut that you like,” says Ekizian. So what if the flat iron steak is everywhere?! If you like a T-bone, get a T-bone. Your butcher will be able to talk you through the different cuts, from skirt to fillet, sirloin to rump, and from there, it’s about working out what your tastebuds appreciate the most.
Let it hang out in the fridge for a bit…
Once you’ve picked the right cut for you, and it has the “right provenance and quality, then what I do, usually, is I put my steak on a wire rack in the fridge so there’s air going through – I let it air-dry,” says Ekizian. “If I don’t have time, for a couple of hours, or ideally, overnight. It always helps to take out the moisture, so it’s a bit dry but it’s not dry-aged. It means there’s less moisture when it goes in the pan and it gives you a nice crust.”
Don’t forget the seasoning…
He says that with seasoning, there are “different schools of thought” to consider. “You can season it a bit before, like a minute before, or you can season it directly on the grill, which I do.” Either way, salt is non-negotiable.
Whack it on the grill, or barbecue…
When it’s time to start cooking – once your beef has come up to room temperature – you need a “very hot grill or a very hot pan,” says Ekizian. And the ideal scenario is to be cooking on real fire. “There is something about cooking over a wood fire that makes it better,” he says, almost wistfully. You get a smokiness and a char that cooking on an induction hob, for instance, isn’t going to give you.
It’s all about timing…
How long you sear your steak for on either side depends on the thickness of it, and how well done you like your meat. Regardless, “it needs to rest. If you cook a steak for four minutes, two minutes on each side, then leave it to rest for a good minute, minute and a half, and that’s gonna be just perfect,” says Ekizian.
‘Done-ness’ can be a pretty confusing area, especially when people start prodding their thumbs to work out what the meat should feel like. “Meat probes are great when you’re not sure,” reassures Ekizian. “Someone like me who’s been doing this for years, we know by touching, or by looking at the meat, but I do recommend people use a probe.”
Sides and sauces…
Fries and baked potatoes are the obvious, delicious accompaniments (and if you’re going retro, grilled tomatoes and portobello mushrooms), but with sauce, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a sauce person, so I like to have my steak with a bit of salt,” says Ekizian, upsetting peppercorn sauce fans everywhere. “If I do have a sauce, it will be a chimichurri, because this is just brilliant: oregano, a bit of olive oil.”
Try not to feel overwhelmed…
Whether you’re new to grilling steak, have incredibly high steak standards or just feel you’re prone to messing up when cooking meat, Ekizian agrees “it’s scary when you don’t know [what you’re doing completely]. When you cook a bigger piece of meat, or you grill on the barbecue, it can be overwhelming, like you don’t have control.” But, he says, once you understand the basics “it can be very simple. Actually, it’s not that difficult, just a couple of steps that you need to take. It’s really about practice.”
(Sam A. Harris/PA)
Gaucho: The Spirit Of Argentina: A Cookbook by Anthony Ekizian is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Publishing, priced £35. Photography by Sam A. Harris, available October 23.
In today’s world, people start to wonder if your relationship is real if it isn’t “Instagram-official” with a cute couple shot and a funny caption. We’ve turned love into a show, a serious game of big gestures and reels.But, through this quote, spiritual guru Premanand Maharaj ji points to a version of love that is quiet, steady, and—most importantly—honest.
Watch
Virat Kohli & Anushka Sharma Meet Saint Premanand Maharaj In Vrindavan
The end of the “Love Barter” system
Most of us, whether we admit it or not, treat love like a transaction. It’s a subtle barter system, like: ‘I cooked dinner, so you should listen to my rant about work.’ Or ‘I said ‘I love you’ first, so now you need to shower me with love too’.When we keep a “scoreboard” in love, we aren’t really connecting with our partner. Instead, we’re just trading favours and love becomes transactional. Premanand Maharaj ji suggests that real love happens when you stop checking the balance sheet. It’s the kind of love that gives because it feels good to give, not because it’s trying to buy a specific reaction.
Why expectations are the ultimate “love killer”
Expectations are essentially premeditated resentments. They show up as those silent “shoulds” that haunt our relationships, like:– ‘They should have known I was upset.’– ‘If they cared, they would have done XYZ for me’.When expectations get too heavy, love starts to feel like a job. Maharaj ji’s perspective is a plea to drop this checklist in your love and relationships. When you stop demanding that someone fit a specific mold, you actually get to see who they are. It’s the difference between loving a version of someone and loving the actual human in front of you.
Love vs. the “highlight reel”
We spend so much time worrying about how our relationships look to the outside world—our families, our friends, our followers. But the best parts of love usually happen in the quiet and simple moments that are not posted online. These can be:– Dealing with a flu.– Sitting in comfortable silence with each other.– Navigating a messy disagreement without an audience.True love doesn’t need a filter. It’s willing to be seen in the “ordinary” moments because it doesn’t rely on outside validation to be real.
How to actually practice true love (Without being a doormat in your relationship)
Selfless love doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you. It means being intentional rather than transactional. Here’s how to start:– Give without expecting anything in return: Do something kind today with zero intention of mentioning it later or expecting a “thank you.”– Watch the “shoulds”: When you feel frustrated, ask yourself: ‘Am I mad at them, or am I mad that they didn’t follow the script I wrote in my head?’– Prioritise presence over posting things online for validation: Next time you’re having a great moment, try not to take a photo of it. Just be there, present in the moment.True love is humble. It’s the quiet, supportive background noise of a life well-lived. It doesn’t ask for much, yet somehow, it’s the only thing that actually changes everything.Do you agree with Premanand Maharaj ji’s advice? Tell us in the comments below.
Boston were 99-98 behind following two Neemias Queta free throws before Maxey scored eight unanswered points to give his side a 107-98 lead with 15 seconds left.
“We started off well and then in the second quarter we kind of relaxed a little,” said Embiid. “Same thing with the start of the fourth.
“But we stuck together, closed it out.”
He added: “It means a lot. You can’t win alone, you need a team to be able win and everybody doing their job.”
Embiid had returned for the last four games of the series after an emergency appendectomy had ruled him out since 6 April.
“What changed in the series is Joel Embiid came back, and they’re a completely different team,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
Boston star Jayson Tatum missed the decider because of a left knee issue, with Jaylen Brown top scoring for them with 33 points.
“Loved the looks that we got, loved the process that we had, but hate the result,” said Mazzulla.
Ellereported Friday that Zendaya will miss the New York City ceremony to take a break from the spotlight after doing two near-simultaneous press tours for The Drama and Euphoria season three.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reported this week that Meryl Streep was rumored to have turned down a co-chair role at the Met Gala because of Bezos and Sanchez’s involvement.
Streep can currently be seen playing Miranda Priestly — a character inspired by longtime Met Gala chair and Vogue editor Anna Wintour — in The Devil Wears Prada 2, and appears on the May 2026 Vogue cover.
Zendaya (left) and Meryl Streep (right) are among the A-listers to miss this year’s Met Gala, which is sponsored for the first time by Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos (Getty/PA)
Zendaya is reportedly taking a break from the spotlight after promoting ‘The Drama’ and ‘Euphoria’ season three back-to-back (Reuters)
Her representative told The Independent: “Meryl has been invited to the Met Gala for many years but has never attended. While she appreciates Vogue, Anna, and her incredible imagination and stamina, it has never quite been her scene.”
Nevertheless, Streep’s daughters, Grace and Mamie Gummer, are attending, as are her Devil Wears Prada 2 co-stars Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, according to Page Six Hollywood sources.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Zendaya and Streep for comment.
The flyer campaign was organized by the British political activist group Everyone Hates Elon, which describes itself as anti-billionaire. The group’s name is inspired by the Tesla tech mogul Elon Musk.
Wintour has attempted to quell the backlash over the couple’s involvement, telling CNN in November: “I think Lauren is going to be a wonderful asset to the museum and to the event. I’m very grateful for her incredible generosity, and she’s a great lover of costume and obviously of fashion, so we’re thrilled she’s part of the night.”
Bezos and Sánchez were named as lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs of the Met Gala in November last year (AFP/Getty)
A flyer campaign in New York City was organized by the British political activist group Everyone Hates Elon to protest Bezos’s sponsorship (Reuters)
The couple’s sponsorship of the Met Gala breaks precedent by having a legacy fashion house as the primary sponsor.
The dress code for the 4 May event is “Costume Art,” which explores the “centrality of the dressed body” through depictions and interpretations of the human form in the Met’s extensive collection.
The dress code is said to encourage guests to think about how they can use their bodies as a blank canvas.
“What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body,” Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, said in a statement.
“It’s the common thread throughout the whole museum, which is really what the initial idea for the exhibition was.”
This year’s co-chairs, who act as honorary hosts for the fundraiser, are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams. Members of the Gala Host Committee — co-chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz — include singer Sabrina Carpenter, musician Doja Cat, ballerina Misty Copeland, Girls creator Lena Dunham, singer Sam Smith and One Battle After Another actor Teyana Taylor, among others.
Eyebrows are more than just facial flair; they evolved from protective brow ridges to enable subtle emotional signaling and enhance facial recognition. Their mobility allows for quick, non-verbal communication, fostering trust and larger social groups, distinguishing modern humans from Neanderthals.
Ever catch yourself raising an eyebrow at a bad joke?That instinct is so simultaneous and quick that even analysing the reason behind it gives us no time.Those little arches above the eyes do more than add flair to our expressions, they are actually an interesting piece of human evolution.
Representative Image
Eyebrows just add so much to our facial features, but we barely notice them until they’re gone, like after a bold shave or a threading gone wrong, and suddenly your face looks off, almost awful!But why are two clusters of hair, the eyebrows even present on our face? Have you ever given it a thought?Eyebrows aren’t just there for show. They quietly shield our eyes from sweat, rain, or dust during a run or a dusty hike. But dig deeper, and there’s a bigger tale tied to our evolution. Our ancient relatives had heavy brow ridges that handled the protection job. As modern humans emerged, those ridges shrank, freeing up space for mobile, expressive eyebrows.A study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution explains that reduced brow ridges let us signal subtle emotions, helping us understand each other better than our ridge-heavy cousins.Turns out, eyebrows are secretly and unrecognisably very important in spotting familiar faces.
Eyebrows give hidden hits for identification
In a 2003 experiment by MIT researchers in Perception, people struggled more identifying celebs like Nixon when eyebrows were erased digitally than when eyes were. Eyebrows provide that stable shape, with the curve, thickness, and spacing that our brains depend upon for “configural processing,” enhancing the face layout.
Eyebrows enhance facial expressions
Beyond basics, eyebrows also elevate the attractiveness and identity across cultures. We define them by threading, plucking, tinting, or Botox for that perfect arch to maintain their pull. They are also related to sexual dimorphism also, with thicker ones often signaling masculinity. In our chatty species, these unsung heroes keep us connected, expressive, and uniquely human.
Eyebrows help us communicate and make friends
Forget grunts, eyebrows let us “talk” quickly and sometimes without even speaking much. A quick raise says “hey, I see you” or a furrow means “what’s wrong?” These low-effort actions make big differences, even in dim light, and they’re tough to fake, building group trust. The 2018 York study says our more expressive faces, due to flexible eyebrows, helped us form bigger friend groups. This beat out Neanderthals, who had smaller, less connected tribes due to inbreeding.In early human teams, faces you could easily read built stronger bonds and helped everyone survive. Heavy brow ridges on Neanderthals looked scary and aggressive but our movable eyebrows share soft feelings like hello, care, or question.
Despite strongly negative headwinds for Trump and his party, Democrats are leading but not running away with the midterm elections at this point.
Trump’s approval rating has dipped to 37%, the lowest of this presidential term, and his 62% disapproval rating is a record high over both presidential terms.
The poll finds Trump is also underwater on managing every issue measured, as two-thirds of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction and Democrats’ midterm lead over Republicans has increased slightly to 5 points.
Trump’s approval rating
Trump’s approval rating has ticked down slightly from 39% in February to 37% and his disapproval has notched up slightly from 60% to 62%, similar to his ratings upon leaving office for his first term, shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building by violent pro-Trump supporters.
Trump’s overall approval rating is buoyed by his party’s faithful. Fully 85% of Republicans approve of Trump, a figure that has not budged much in his second term. But the share of Republicans who strongly approve of Trump has dropped. Currently, 45% of Republicans strongly approve of Trump, down from 53% in September and the lowest among Republicans across both terms.
Among MAGA Republicans, 95% approve overall, including 61% who approve strongly. Overall approval falls to 64% among non-MAGA Republicans with just 13% of non-MAGA Republicans approving strongly. MAGA Republicans are self-described supporters of the MAGA movement and make up 66% of the Republican Party, according to this poll.
Trump’s approval rating among independents has dropped to a record low for both of his terms. Just 25% approve of the job he is doing overall, down from 30% in October and higher in his first term.
About three-quarters of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living in the U.S. (76%) with just about a quarter approving (23%). Nearly as many disapprove of how he’s handling inflation (72%), up from 65% who disapproved in February. Under 3 in 10 approve of how Trump is handling inflation. In his campaign for president, Trump repeatedly promised to lower costs for Americans.
About two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy (65%) — a record high over both of Trump’s presidential terms and roughly the same as then-President Joe Biden’s worst rating on the economy in ABC/Post polling in September 2023 (64%).
Similar shares of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the situation with Iran (66%) as well as relations with U.S. allies (65%), while about a third approve of how he is handling each. A majority of Americans say the U.S. using military force against Iran was a mistake.
About 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling taxes and just under 4 in 10 approve — an issue he had hoped to win over Americans with this spring.
“Every single American at every income level — there’s more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,” Trump said earlier this month at a roundtable event touting his “no tax on tips” policy.
President Donald Trump departs the White House, May 1, 2026 in Washington.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
On immigration, 59% disapprove and 40% approve, virtually the same as his ratings in February, and showing little to no movement months after Trump’s Operation Metro Surge where federal immigration and border agents were deployed across Minnesota to enforce immigration laws, detaining thousands and killing two U.S. citizens.
Trump’s best issue is handling the immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, where 54% disapprove and 45% approve. Still, those are slightly worse ratings than he received in February ABC/Post/Ipsos polling.
Nearly half of Americans (46%) say Trump is “too conservative.”
In addition to the issues, about 7 in 10 Americans say Trump is not honest and trustworthy, two-thirds say he does not carefully consider important decisions and about 6 in 10 say he does not have the mental sharpness to serve as president. Over half say Trump is not in good enough physical health to serve effectively as president (55%) and that he is not a strong leader (54%).
Despite promising to “drain the swamp” and clean up government waste, roughly half of Americans say the amount of corruption in Washington has increased since Trump took office last year (49%), about 3 in 10 say it has stayed the same and about 2 in 10 say it has decreased.
Midterms
At this stage of the election cycle, Democrats are more motivated and more likely to say these midterm elections are important. Also, independents prefer Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives by a wide margin.
Among registered voters, 49% say that they would vote for the Democratic candidate if midterms were held today and 44% say they would vote for the Republican, a statistically significant 5-point margin, and up slightly from the 2-point edge Democrats had in February and October ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos polls.
Before the last midterms, in an April 2022 ABC/Post poll, registered voters were split about evenly between the two parties and Republicans won Congress. In an April 2018 ABC/Post poll, Democrats led by 4 points and Democrats went on to win the House in November.
Among independent voters, the poll finds Democrats have a wide 20-point lead over Republicans, 52% to 32%. In April 2022, they were split evenly (42%-42%) and in 2018, they supported Democrats by just 6 points (44%-38%).
Nearly all Democratic voters say they would support their party’s House candidate and Republican voters say the same about their party’s candidate. About two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say Republican leaders should follow Trump’s leadership compared to the just about one-third who say the party should be led in a different direction.
President Donald Trump departs the Oval Office at the White House, May 1, 2026, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Democratic voters also have a wide lead on how important they view the election: 61% say their vote this year is “much more important” than past midterm elections, compared to 35% of Republicans who say the same. Shortly before the 2022 midterms, in a September ABC/Post poll, similar shares of Democratic (39%) and Republican (38%) voters said that voting that year was much more important.
And when it comes to certainty to vote, 79% of Democratic registered voters say they are “absolutely certain to vote” — unchanged from February. But Republican voters are narrowing the gap. Today, 72% of Republicans say they are certain to vote, up from 65% in February.
Trust on issues
Even with Trump’s low approval ratings and Democrats’ edge in the vote choice question, Americans don’t trust Democrats much more to handle issues and slightly more say Democrats are too liberal than say Republicans are too conservative.
Just over half of Americans, 53%, say that the Democratic Party is too liberal, slightly more than the 49% who say the Republican Party is too conservative. Among independents, 50% say the Democratic Party is too liberal, inching up to 53% who say the Republican Party is too conservative.
On 11 separate issues measured, Americans trust Democrats more on just three issues, Republicans on only two issues and are divided between the two parties on the remaining issues.
Americans trust Democrats over Republicans to handle healthcare, education and the cost of living.
Historically, Democrats have had a lead over Republicans on handling healthcare and education. Today, Americans trust Democrats over Republicans to handle healthcare by 17 points and to handle education and schools by 8 points. They trust Democrats over Republicans to handle the cost of living by a smaller margin, 5 points.
Americans trust Republicans more than Democrats on immigration and crime. On immigration, the Republican lead has narrowed to 5 points, compared to a 12-point margin they enjoyed in a November 2023 ABC/Ipsos poll. But in an ABC/Ipsos poll in October 2022, the two parties were only 3 points apart.
Republican’s 14-point lead on trust to handle crime over Democrats is in line with where it was in 2022 and 2023 ABC/Ipsos polling.
And Americans are split roughly evenly on whether they trust either party more on handling the economy, inflation, taxes, corruption, Iran and AI.
Republicans have generally led on the economy, and the last time the two parties were tied was in 2014. But now the public is split between the parties on this issue: Republicans (34%) and Democrats (33%).
On inflation, Americans divide roughly three ways between trusting Democrats (31%), Republicans (30%) and neither of them (33%) — which is an improvement for Democrats from the past. In ABC/Ipsos polling dating back to 2022, Republicans have had a double-digit lead over Democrats on handling inflation and even larger leads in ABC/Post telephone polls between 1990 and 2022.
And Americans are also split three ways on handling taxes between Republicans (34%), Democrats (31%) and neither (30%). They were roughly tied in ABC News/Ipsos polling in 2022 and ABC/Post telephone polls in 2018.
On corruption, a 44% plurality say they trust neither party, with 26% say they trust each party more.
On Iran, Americans are split roughly three ways on whether they trust Democrats, Republicans or neither party. On AI, 51% say they trust neither party.
Direction of country and Trump policy decisions
Two-thirds of Americans say the country is moving in the wrong direction, including over 9 in 10 Democrats and nearly 8 in 10 independents. MAGA Republicans are much more likely to say the country is moving in the right direction (87%) than non-MAGA Republicans (49%).
Four different policies Trump campaigned on or were later enacted by his administration are all deeply unpopular.
The Trump administration has deeply slashed federal medical research funding and 78% oppose this, including majorities of Democrats (90%), Republicans (65%) and independents (79%). Even 60% of MAGA Republicans oppose reducing federal funding for medical research.
The White House has requested a record $1.5 trillion for defense spending. About two-thirds of Americans (65%) oppose increasing U.S. military spending from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, including majorities of Democrats (87%) and independents (75%). Two-thirds of Republicans (67%) support this, rising to 76% among MAGA Republicans.
Trump has argued to end birthright citizenship in the U.S., saying children born to parents who are not American citizens or legal permanent residents should not automatically become citizens because they still owe political “allegiance” to a foreign nation. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case last month.
About two-thirds of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship (65%), including about 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 independents. Roughly 6 in 10 Republicans support this, rising to nearly three-quarters of MAGA Republicans.
In addition to Trump’s low approval rating, members of his administration do not fare much better, but larger numbers of Americans have no opinion of them.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who Trump appointed in his first term, but is not technically part of his administration, fares better: 36% of Americans approve of him, 29% disapprove and 35% say they have no opinion. Trump has criticized Powell over the Fed’s rate policy. His term as chairman ends in May.
While 35% approve of Vice President JD Vance, 48% disapprove.
Just 31% approve of the job Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing as secretary of Health and Human Services with 50% disapproving and 19% saying they have no opinion. Fully 4 in 10 disapprove of him strongly.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on Capitol Hill, April 22, 2026, in Washington.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
FBI Director Kash Patel is close behind with 27% approving and 46% disapproving and another 27% with no opinion.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also underwater, with 33% approving and 40% disapproving and another 27% with no opinion.
Methodology — This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted among 2,560 U.S. adults overall and has an error margin of +/- 2 percentage points. Error margins are larger among subgroups.
