Recent polling data suggests a significant decline in President Donald Trump's approval ratings, with panelists on MS NOW's "Deadline: White House" highlighting dire numbers related to his stewardship of the economy and a foreign conflict.
According to a new CNN poll, Trump's approval stands at 34%, with an Associated Press survey reporting 33% and a Quinnipiac poll indicating 32%. A Reuters-Ipsos poll revealed that a majority of voters now perceive Democrats as more effective economic managers than Republicans.
During the "Deadline: White House" discussion, "Bulwark Daily" podcast host Tim Miller observed a perceived shift in Trump's approach. "He just has totally lost that, between the war, economy, prices," Miller stated. "We’re putting gold everywhere in the capital now, and he doesn’t even seem to have a plan. … There’s no kind of idea for what he is going to do to address prices, to end the war."
More than 70% of voters surveyed by Quinnipiac believe Trump bears some or a lot of blame for high gas prices, a sentiment that comes as the nation approaches midterm elections. "Eighty percent of all voters believe that the current economy is either getting worse or staying the same," added MS NOW host Nicolle Wallace, noting a broad consensus among the electorate regarding economic dissatisfaction and assigning blame to Trump.
Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri suggested that while Trump may have previously conveyed a semblance of concern, he now appears "exhausted" and dismissive of economic anxieties, which he has characterized as a Democratic fabrication. "And now he’s actively telling people, ‘I think inflation is fine, everything is great,’" Palmieri said. "And he’s just focused on what arcs he can build in the capital and the Reflecting Pool and more gold in the White House. And it just seems all about legacy."
Panelists largely agreed that the decline in approval was self-inflicted. Miller specifically pointed to Trump's decision to initiate military action in Iran, calling it a "betrayal of his voters" that directly contributed to soaring gas prices. "This was not that... It was not some exogenous event, right? It was like, he started this war after promising that he wouldn’t — and now you’re paying more. So obviously people are going to blame him," Miller explained.