What did Donald Trump do today?
He once again brought up the subject of his popularity.
Trump had another lazy Sunday afternoon, with nothing more pressing than "executive time" on his schedule, which is the euphemism his aides use for time he spends on social media, watching TV, or sleeping. That gave him the opportunity to reflect on his boutique social media service about a favorite subject: how much he thinks Americans love him.
It's no exaggeration to say that Trump is historically unpopular. No president since modern polling began with the Eisenhower administration with has ever been this unpopular at this point in his term, and few presidents have ever been as unpopular at any point as he is right now—not even fi
rst-term Donald Trump.
Only Richard Nixon was less popular at this point in his second term, and in May 1974 he was just a few months away from being forced to resign in disgrace.
Trump's unpopularity is crashing through boundaries not normally possible. He's underwater in ruby-red states like Mississippi, Montana, and Utah.
Even Trump-friendly poll aggregators like RealClearPolitics.com agree: Trump is approaching the level of unpopularity he spiked to after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Trump didn't specify which "Poll Numbers" he thought were "Excellent," although he rarely does, and when he does it's usually clear he's not understanding what he's seeing. Last month, he gushed over a poll showing him with 96% approval, either not knowing or not caring that it was a poll of attendees at a pro-Trump political conference. He also seized on CNN's Harry Enten mentioning that his support was at 100% among self-described "MAGA voters"—meaning, again, that Trump's self-proclaimed supporters support him. Enten later clarified that a better way to describe Trump's popularity—which was higher then than it is now—was as a "steady fall into the abyss."
Of course, Trump—who "jokes" about attempting another coup and staying on past the end of his second term—isn't on the ballot and won't ever be again. But his party is in 2026, and in spite of aggressive gerrymandering done at Trump's behest to disenfranchise Democratic voters, especially African-Americans, it now seems likely that Trump will be a historical anchor in the midterms. Trump may even cost his party the Senate, in a year when the map of seats up for election is terrible for Democrats.
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| Projected chance of winning the House (racetothewh.com) |
All that having been said, there is a smidgen of good polling news for Trump, whose increasingly fragile health has been a real concern. By a plurality of 45-31, Americans believe that the 79-year-old Trump could still successfully beat up an 8-year-old boy. (24% thought it was too close to call.)
Why does this matter?
- The only thing more pathetic than thinking you can trick other people into liking you is tricking yourself into believing you've done it.