FOLLOW US

America April 7, 2020 3 mins read

Opinion: Will rocky rollout of SBA loans affect Trump’s reelection efforts?

America ı By Rheanna Chou

0 Comments

USA Herald

Despite President Trump’s daily white house briefings describing the rollout of Small Business Association (SBA) loans as “flawless” and “without glitches,” Trump supporters, along with the rest of Americans, are becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of funding.

The $350 billion small business loan program was launched Friday, April 3, and has suffered a slew of technical issues and lacked clarity on loan requirements. A program that was supposed to provide much needed aid to small businesses across the country has fallen short of expectations, though Trump continues to sing its praises at every opportunity, recently tweeting about being “way ahead of schedule.”

Banks have received tens of thousands of applications for billions of dollars in loan amounts and have quickly been overwhelmed. Lacking direction from the Department of Treasury, banks began to sort through applications, prioritizing those that met their own standards. Basically, giving priority to those applicants who not only banked with them, but also had a prior credit history — leaving many applicants without access to critical funding.

NBC reported on Saturday that “Senior banking executives at Bank of America and Chase told NBC News they were still waiting on loan numbers to come back from the SBA, and so far had not processed any more than a trickle from the flood of applicants.”

The process itself is also presenting problems. Applicants must first go through their banks, which then forwards them through the SBA loan system. Unfortunately, many banks have reported issues accessing the portal and there isn't a way to speed up the system yet.

The president of the union representing SBA workers said he’s been hearing about “issues” with E-Tran since Friday, according to reporting by Bloomburg. And because these loans are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, applicants who can’t get their loans processed because of technical issues may miss out on vital funding.

To combat this, President Trump announced today that he is trying to “supplement the money” available and is “in talks” to increase funding. And though he claims the SBA has processed $70 billion in loans, it’s still unclear when that money will be available.

If Trump can’t get this embarrassing debacle sorted out, this could affect his ability to win reelection. Small business owners on Twitter are tearing into the fumbled SBA loan rollout and frustration is mounting. Everyone is swiftly tiring of empty promises.

In February, CNBC reported Trump’s approval rating among small business owners had hit an all-time high at 64%. According to the survey, small business owners are more likely to be Republican than Democrat, which is why his approval rating was so high among this group.

But republicans, historically touted as the fiscally responsible party, are unlikely to be impressed if they’re unable to keep their businesses operating. If Trump can’t follow through on these SBA loans, he may see a decrease in approval ratings here going into the final leg of his election campaign.

Trump has maintained a strong base of supporters throughout his presidency, despite and maybe even because of his tendency to grandstand. He’s a personality that the blue-collar working man has been able to get behind. Will this be the final straw that ends his bid for reelection? Or will he pull it together last-minute and get funding out just in time to appease his voting base and follow through on promises of a strong economy?

 

 

 

Previous Article

Tapplock settles FTC complaint over its false advertising of its smart locks

Read More
23 Posts

Rheanna Chou

Rheanna is a journalist and editor based in the Pacific Northwest. She believes in writing about the facts and letting the reader form their own opinions.

Discussion

No comments yet. Be the first to join the discussion!

Don’t Miss It
America September 10, 2026
CBCA Minimum Wage $3.3M Suit Win Hands Contractor a Costly Vindication
By – Rihem Akkouche
America September 10, 2026
Latham Buys Nvidia Servers to Power Its Own In-House AI Engine
By – Rihem Akkouche
America September 10, 2026
Walmart Great Value Berry Recall Widens Over E. Coli Fears
By – Tyler Brooks
America September 10, 2026
Frazier $1.1B Public Fund Signals Fresh Bet on Biotech’s Next Wave
By – Tyler Brooks
America September 10, 2026
Brian Duckworth Death Silences a Voice…

Some voices carry further than the rooms they’re born in.…

By – Tyler Brooks
Science & Technology September 10, 2026
Clearview AI Tests Police Surveillance Tool…

WASHINGTON — Clearview AI is testing an assistant designed to…

By – Michallie Harrison
America September 10, 2026
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Energy Drink…

Key takeaways The latest reported order paused the family’s lawsuit…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 10, 2026
Missing Scientists and Defense Personnel Continue…

Key takeaways Four people central to earlier coverage remain publicly…

By – Samuel Lopez
Breaking News September 10, 2026
Trump Ties $5,000 Payments to Republican…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump promised Wednesday to send $5,000…

By – Michallie Harrison
America September 10, 2026
Jack Doherty Pleads Not Guilty to…

Background Jack Doherty pleaded not guilty after his September 4…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 10, 2026
Jack Doherty Pleads Not Guilty to…

Background Jack Doherty pleaded not guilty after his September 4…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 10, 2026
OpenAI Cybersecurity Under Scrutiny After AI…

OpenAI cybersecurity concerns are growing after researchers reported that a…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 9, 2026
A.I. Ethicist Tristan Harris Is Warning…

By Samuel López | USA Herald Artificial intelligence ethicist Tristan…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 9, 2026
To Catch a Predator: Robert Pattinson…

The phrase Catch a Predator became synonymous with one of…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 9, 2026
Avi Loeb’s Most Recent ‘Alien Relic’…

By Samuel López | USA Herald In “The Search for…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 9, 2026
Floyd Protests Fraud Claims Collapse as…

Insurance disputes can play out like a high-stakes tug-of-war —…

By – Tyler Brooks
America September 8, 2026
Trump-a-Palooza: Republicans Put Trump at Center…

DALLAS — Trump-a-Palooza is bringing Republicans from across the country…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 8, 2026
Iranian Twins Face Death Sentence and…

Iranian twins Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, 20, are facing drastically…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 8, 2026
AI Amnesia: Bigger Diffusion Models May…

AI Amnesia may be an emerging problem for researchers, artists…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 8, 2026
Bats Invade Homes in New York…

New York is experiencing a surge in bat encounters this…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 6, 2026
Pokémon Card Values Soar as Investors…

Three Things Collectors Should Know A record $16.492 million Pokémon…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 6, 2026
California Appeals Court Upholds Mutual DVROs…

3 Key Takeaways California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal upheld…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 9, 2026
Amazon Cargo Plane Crash Data Suggests…

Key Takeaways The flight data suggests that the pilots briefly…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 9, 2026
Ambient AI Could Be the Next…

Key Takeaways Ambient AI can turn conversations into draft records,…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 8, 2026
Apogem 11th PE Fund Closes at…

Private markets firm Apogem Capital announced Tuesday it has sealed…

By – Tyler Brooks
America September 8, 2026
Ocarina of Time Remake Set for…

Nintendo today unveiled a remake of The Legend of Zelda:…

By – Tyler Brooks
America September 8, 2026
EverBank $3.9B WaFd Deal Forges Coast-to-Coast…

In a bold consolidation that could redraw the map of…

By – Tyler Brooks
America September 8, 2026
Hidden AI Prompts In Court Filings…

News analysis Hidden instructions in legal filings can target AI…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 5, 2026
Georgian National Indicted in Money Laundering…

By Samuel López | USA Herald A federal grand jury…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 1, 2026
DOJ Drops Hammer On Kansas School…

By Samuel López | USA Herald The U.S. Department of…

By – Samuel Lopez
America August 28, 2026
CVS Ordered to Answer for AI-Fueled…

Case at a Glance A Manhattan federal judge has ruled…

By – Samuel Lopez
Breaking News August 27, 2026
Sacred Horse Year Pilgrimage Turns Catastrophic…

A Disaster Unfolding in Real Time, Legal and Diplomatic Fallout…

By – Samuel Lopez
America August 27, 2026
When Your Chatbot Becomes the Star…

Legal Analysis: How AI Conversations Are Reshaping the Rules of…

By – Samuel Lopez
America August 25, 2026
Forensic Identification Breakthrough Helps Identify 9/11…

Nearly 25 years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 6, 2026
Travis Kelce-Backed Club Car Wash Faces…

By Samuel López | USA Herald A fast-growing car wash…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 6, 2026
‘DWTS’ Gleb Savchenko Lists $1.4 Million…

By Samuel López | USA Herald Factual Background Gleb Savchenko…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 4, 2026
Trump Calls Tiger Woods DUI Plea…

In This Report Tiger Woods accepted reduced charges and surrendered…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 2, 2026
Clippers Fined $30M as NBA Drops…

A year-long investigation just landed on the Los Angeles Clippers…

By – Rihem Akkouche
America August 26, 2026
Tupac Shakur Murder Trial Moves to…

The Tupac Shakur murder trial will resume Thursday in Las…

By – Jackie Allen
America August 21, 2026
World Cup Brawl Leads to Major…

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The World Cup final between Spain…

By – Jackie Allen

No posts found.

No posts found.

Signup for the USA Herald
exclusive Newsletter