March 6: Trump Job Approval Again Underwater, Where It Belongs
As an inveterate poll-watcher, I have been waiting for the moment when Donald Trump’s job approval numbers went underwater, his accustomed position for nearly all of his presidential career. It arrived around the time he made his speech to Congress, as I noted at New York:
Even as he was delivering the most partisan address to Congress maybe ever, Donald Trump’s public support seemed to be regularly eroding. An updated FiveThirtyEight average of Trump’s approval ratings on March 4 (released just as news broke that ABC was shutting down the revered data site) showed him going underwater for the first time since reoccupying the White House, with 47.6 percent approval and 47.9 percent disapproval. That puts Trump back in the same territory of public opinion he occupied during his first term as president, where (per Gallup) he never achieved more than 50 percent job approval, and averaged a mere 41 percent.
Perhaps Trump will get lucky and conditions in the country will improve enough to validate his agenda, but it’s more likely that the same sour public climate that overwhelmed Joe Biden will now afflict his predecessor and successor.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey that pushed Trump’s numbers into negative territory showed a mood very different from the 47th president’s boasts about a new “golden age” for our country:
“Thirty-four percent of Americans say that the country is headed in the right direction, compared to 49% who say it is off on the wrong track. When it comes to several specific issues, Americans are more likely to say things are off on the wrong track than going in the right direction: cost of living (22% right direction / 60% wrong track), the national economy (31% right direction / 51% wrong track), national politics (33% right direction / 50% wrong track), American foreign policy (33% right direction / 49% wrong track), and employment and jobs (33% right direction / 47% wrong track).”
So all the hype about Trump being a popular president who was in the midst of engineering a major realignment of the American electorate is already looking more than a bit hollow. Trump has a solid Republican base of support and a solid Democratic opposition, with independents currently leaning towards the Democratic Party on most issues. Perhaps Trump’s agenda will gain momentum and support, but since he’s not trying to reach out beyond his party’s base at all, he’s going to need a lift from Americans who only voted for him in 2024 as the lesser of evils and may not vote in the 2026 midterms at all.
At present Trump has lost whatever presidential “honeymoon” he initially enjoyed after his return to the White House, and needs to find new converts to return to genuine popularity. He’s not off to a great start.
Biden should immediately switch to and highlight the platform of providing quality middle class jobs and deceasing outsourcing. Middle class has been the solid voting block for Democrats, and unfortunately being neglected in the 2016 election, and pretty much until now. We fight for immigrants, LGBT and women’s rights whom by far and large are middle-class themselves! The platform has to, at least to a degree, to highlight the plight of middle classes, and provide solid policy on bringing jobs back to America. Otherwise, we lose the election like we did in 2016. “It’s the economy, xxx” – of the middle class!
Take away the Republican’s Trump card:
“It’s the economy stupid!” – and Trump has borrowed unprecedented amounts to get re-elected. Why have I not been asked if I think that it is reasonable for Trump to have borrowed about $30,000 dollars per taxpayer ($48k+ per family) to float the economy until he gets re-elected? Why has Dems just let him have his strongest argument uncontested?
Simply put, he is a real estate con man that has completely succeeded in his greatest con. It is child play to tie the “King of Debt” to the king size debt he has built up. Why have I, as well as all voters, not been asked who do we think he will stick with this unprecedented bill?
In 2016, Republican’s had complete control our federal government. Did they fund the wall? No. Did they pass an anti-abortion law? No. Did they shrink the size of government? No. Did they reduce the deficit? No.
If fact, what they did is pass a huge tax cut for the rich. So why not show how Trump has played middle America? He lies to them. Trump also has lied about who pays the China Tariffs. We pay, of course. Why am I not hearing about how we are now paying more in the tariff tax than we have received in the tax cut? Why have I not heard about how this is another of Trump’s cons.
The underlying Republican strategy is to lie and cheat, and their lies will be effective. We are in the calm before the storm, and once they are done with muddying the water, then they will make the argument that we have to vote for them for the economy. TAKE THE TRUMP CARD AWAY!