Trump gets reckless as his agenda tanks with the American public
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What do recent polls reveal about Trump's public approval?
Really happy to have you here. Happy Friday. So correlation is not causation. Just because things happen together doesn't necessarily mean that one of those things caused the other one to happen. Still, though, it's hard not to think that these things happening right now in the news might not have something to do with one another. Here's the first thing. It's about public opinion. We started last night's show with a look at public opinion concerning this president and this presidency as he approaches the end of his crucial first hundred days in office. And as we discussed on last night's show, the numbers for him are brutally bad. In the Pew poll, President Donald Trump is underwater in his overall approval rating by 19 points.
In the Fox News poll, people are asked if Trump's policies are helping or hurting the U.S. economy. They say Trump's policies are hurting the U.S. economy by a margin of 22 points. In the Economist YouGov poll, they asked if Trump is generally helping or hurting not just the economy, but the whole United States. Since Trump has been back in office, have his actions as president helped the United States or hurt the United States? The American people say Trump has hurt the United States, and they say it by a 24-point margin. So, we covered some of that yesterday. Now, today, banner headline all day long at the New York Times, quote, voters sour on Trump. in new New York Times-Siena poll. And then you get the full headline, voters see Trump's use of power as overreaching. And then it's just a litany of all the things Trump has been trying to do and how much the American public hates all of it. Do you support or oppose Trump withholding funds from universities? Oppose by a 25-point margin. Should Trump be allowed to impose tariffs without authorization from Congress?
No, by a 33-point margin. Should Trump be allowed to eliminate programs enacted by Congress? No, by a 33-point margin. Should Trump be allowed to deport legal immigrants for protesting against Israel? No, by a 46-point margin. Should Trump be allowed to send U.S. citizens to that prison in El Salvador like he's been threatening to? No, he should not be allowed to do that by a 63-point margin. Should Trump be allowed to ignore an order from the United States Supreme Court? No, by a 70 point margin. When you are losing polling questions about stuff you've said you might want to do or stuff you're trying to do, when you're losing polling questions like that by 40, 60, 70 point margins, we're pretty close to something that looks like a national consensus view in this country.
And the view is no. No to what Donald Trump is doing. Do you approve of how Trump is managing the government? No. Do you approve of how Trump is managing trade? No. Do you approve of Donald Trump's executive orders rolling back DEI programs in the federal government? No. Do you approve of Donald Trump on the economy? No. Do you approve of Donald Trump and his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war? Nope. Do you approve of Donald Trump's handling of immigration? No. Do you approve of Donald Trump's treatment of the Kilmar-Abrego-Garcia case? No. By a 21-point margin, no. But credit The New York Times and their editors for actually, I think, really getting right the big takeaway from this poll in all of its detail. The big takeaway really is what they put in the headline.
Voters see Trump's use of power as overreaching. And they can say that credibly in this poll because they asked about it. I mean, outright majorities of the country say that Trump has gone, quote, too far on tariffs, too far on his cuts to the federal workforce, too far. On immigration enforcement? Too far. On his overall changes to the political and economic system? Too far. Outright majorities of the country say he's gone too far on all of those things. And it's not just that New York Times-Siena poll that's out today. There's also a new AP national poll that's out today, which puts Trump minus 24 on the economy. Whoa. There's a new Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll that's out today. Their headline, Trump's immigration ratings turn negative.
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