A recent SSRS/CNN poll revealed that 68% of Americans believe that Donald Trump is not in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives. This comes as growing economic issues, such as unemployment, continue to take a toll on the economic prosperity of the average American. Furthermore, 58% of Americans call Trump’s first year in office a “failure”, showing how the majority of American voters do not believe Trump has improved their lives in the past year.
This polling is disastrous for Trump. It shows that even Republicans believe he is out of touch with the average American, and that he is a president who focuses on his own interests instead of the interests of America. Although many voters will remain in support of Trump despite their beliefs on his handling of the economy (his approval rating remains above 40%), if the economy becomes worse Trump is facing an approval drop of 10-20 points, just looking at today’s polls.
Trump is becoming the Republican Biden, an aging president who can’t convince the public of his economic message. Although he seems to have retained his loyal MAGA base, his approval outside of that group has nosedived since his inauguration. Worse off, even his base is losing support. 42% of Republicans and self described “MAGA” members believe he hasn’t done enough to bolster the economy. Still, nine in ten Republicans approve of Trump’s performance, and roughly half strongly approve. His base remains in line, but there are growing fractures under the surface of the MAGA movement.
Economic worry has become the core issue for Americans, with 42% saying that the economy is the number one issue in the United States today. Following the economy is American democracy and immigration. Immigration remains his most popular policy, with a -16% net approval rating, but it’s clear that the public believes immigration is not the most important issue facing America today.
Trump needs to focus more on the economy if he doesn’t want a blue tsunami in the midterms later this year. The economy remains one of his lowest net-approval issues, and one of the most important ones as well.