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HARD NUMBERS: Anti-Musk petition grows, Measles on the move, Trump hawks gold cards, Polls gauge president’s approval

February 27, 2025
Alex Kliment
​Elon Musk speaks during the first Cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025.

Elon Musk speaks during the first Cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder
320,000: More than 320,000 people have so far signed an online petition demanding that DOGE czar Elon Musk be stripped of his Canadian citizenship on the grounds that he is “part of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty.” Musk’s boss, Donald Trump, has repeatedly threatened to make Canada “the 51st state.” Unfortunately for the petitioners, Musk has Canadian citizenship legally – through his mother, who was born in Saskatchewan – meaning it’s virtually impossible to revoke it.

95 and 124: Measles is on the move in Canada and the US. So far this year in Canada, there have been 97 cases of the disease, which is particularly dangerous to young children, compared to 147 cases all of last year. The latest outbreak has been traced to cases in New Brunswick last fall. Meanwhile, in West Texas, a measles outbreak has sickened at least 124 people and killed a child. California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York City, Rhode Island, and New Mexico have also seen measles cases in recent weeks. Experts say that slower uptake of measles vaccines may be contributing to the outbreaks.

5 million: Want to be a US citizen? Well, if you’ve got $5 million burning a hole in your pocket, you’re in luck! Donald Trump is now planning to sell “gold cards” for that amount, which grant foreigners the right to live and work in the US and provide them with a swift path to citizenship.

44: After about a month in office, Donald Trump’s approval rating is 44%, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. His disapproval rating is at 50%. For comparison, Trump’s approval rating is about the same as it was at this point in Trump’s first term, but about 10 points lower than the analogous rating for Joe Biden.

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