Trump's Approval Rating Plummets as His Grip on Reality Begins to Slip
President Donald Trump is facing a crisis of perception, with his approval rating plummeting to 38 percent in the latest YouGov/Economist poll. The question now is whether he can recover from this downward spiral or if he's headed for a devastating crash.
The president's health and public schedule have been the subject of growing scrutiny, with rumors about his physical condition and reports of him appearing disoriented during Cabinet meetings. Even on social media, Trump's posts seem increasingly disconnected from real-world events by daylight. Any hint of frailty or weakness in an 80-year-old man who has cultivated a persona as a vital and dynamic leader threatens to undermine that image.
In an effort to reassert control over the narrative, Trump spent much of last week posting inflammatory messages on his Truth Social platform. He launched personal attacks against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar, declared he would end migration from "Third World countries," and even suggested stripping U.S. citizenship from naturalized immigrants.
However, this attention-seeking behavior doesn't change the fact that Trump's policies are becoming increasingly unpopular across a range of polls. He now has a net negative approval rating on all major polls aggregated by The New York Times, with the second-lowest poll numbers for any president since World War II.
A recent AP-NORC poll shows Trump losing significant support among Republicans due to his catastrophic management during the government shutdown and other issues. Even among young men who supported him in 2024, there's a growing sense of disillusionment with broken promises on economic futures.
The relationship between Trump and his most loyal followers is also under scrutiny. MAGA believers are intensely devoted to the president, viewing him as speaking from the heart without filter. However, focus group research reveals that almost one-third of Trump voters report regretting their vote or being disappointed in how he's handling the presidency.
Despite this, experts warn that it's unclear whether his loyal followers can boost him back to political dominance. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat writes that for hard-core MAGA supporters, the realization that all is not as it seemed will be frightening and initially dismissed.
As Trump's actual popularity wanes, Republican efforts to undermine democracy through extreme partisan gerrymandering, vote suppression, court challenges, intimidation, and other tactics will only become more brazen. Whether this can be stopped in time remains to be seen.
President Donald Trump is facing a crisis of perception, with his approval rating plummeting to 38 percent in the latest YouGov/Economist poll. The question now is whether he can recover from this downward spiral or if he's headed for a devastating crash.
The president's health and public schedule have been the subject of growing scrutiny, with rumors about his physical condition and reports of him appearing disoriented during Cabinet meetings. Even on social media, Trump's posts seem increasingly disconnected from real-world events by daylight. Any hint of frailty or weakness in an 80-year-old man who has cultivated a persona as a vital and dynamic leader threatens to undermine that image.
In an effort to reassert control over the narrative, Trump spent much of last week posting inflammatory messages on his Truth Social platform. He launched personal attacks against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar, declared he would end migration from "Third World countries," and even suggested stripping U.S. citizenship from naturalized immigrants.
However, this attention-seeking behavior doesn't change the fact that Trump's policies are becoming increasingly unpopular across a range of polls. He now has a net negative approval rating on all major polls aggregated by The New York Times, with the second-lowest poll numbers for any president since World War II.
A recent AP-NORC poll shows Trump losing significant support among Republicans due to his catastrophic management during the government shutdown and other issues. Even among young men who supported him in 2024, there's a growing sense of disillusionment with broken promises on economic futures.
The relationship between Trump and his most loyal followers is also under scrutiny. MAGA believers are intensely devoted to the president, viewing him as speaking from the heart without filter. However, focus group research reveals that almost one-third of Trump voters report regretting their vote or being disappointed in how he's handling the presidency.
Despite this, experts warn that it's unclear whether his loyal followers can boost him back to political dominance. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat writes that for hard-core MAGA supporters, the realization that all is not as it seemed will be frightening and initially dismissed.
As Trump's actual popularity wanes, Republican efforts to undermine democracy through extreme partisan gerrymandering, vote suppression, court challenges, intimidation, and other tactics will only become more brazen. Whether this can be stopped in time remains to be seen.
... you gotta take a step back and re-evaluate why you even started in the first place... trump's situation is crazy, but imo its not just about him, its about how we consume info and blindly follow ppl who spew hate speech 
... we need to question everything, especially when it comes from ppl who seem disconnected from reality 
... can we please focus on unity instead of division?
he's supposed to be a strong leader but now he's posting crazy messages on social media and people are just like "wait whats going on" 
I mean I'm all for a good drama but this is like some kind of soap opera. 
the guy was always saying we're gonna build that wall and now he's posting pics with funny faces and it's just weird. 
it's gonna come crashing down eventually. we need to remind ourselves that power ain't about being right all the time, it's about serving others & doing what's best for the greater good 
. let this be a lesson to us all: humility is key, and if you're not willing to listen & adapt, you'll end up like trump - out of touch with reality 
i mean we all know hes got a history of saying crazy stuff, but now it's starting to affect his real-life actions too. the way he's been posting these inflammatory messages is just desperate and attention-seeking, and it's not gonna work.
anyone can see how messed up his head is at this point. and what's with all these policies that are just plain unpopular? i get it, trump's got a base of loyal followers, but even they're starting to get disillusioned.
... Trump's approval rating is like, officially tanking 
And don't even get me started on his whole "Third World countries" thing 
... that's just gonna attract all sorts of hate mail from people who actually care about actual issues.
. Newsflash, Trump: it's not working 
. The more you lash out, the more people are gonna turn on you. It's basic math, dude 
... I mean, 80 years old and still trying to be this guy? Like, what's going on in that head of his? 
. The question is, who's gonna pick up the pieces? 
. Those Truth Social posts were pretty cringeworthy too 
. I don't get why ppl still support him despite all that. He's broken so many promises and it's just not working out for them 
. It's not healthy and we need to call ppl out on it 
. I just hope that Trump's loyal followers can see the damage he's doing and break free from their MAGA haze 
. We need better leaders who care about the people, not just themselves