US President Donald Trump continues to decry adversarial coverage of his performance and presidency, calling it “fake news,” as recent polls indicate that voters have a poor opinion of how he is handling the economy and his approval ratings plummet to an all-time low.
Voters Indicate Preference for Democrats
President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Monday, May 12, 2025, in the Roosevelt Room. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at a Military Mothers’ Day event, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll put the president’s approval at 32%, lower than his predecessor’s lowest approval rating at the same point in his presidency.
Former President Joe Biden’s approval rating was 35.6% at this stage in his presidency, and Trump’s approval rating after his first term in the White House stood at 38.6%.
More respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they would vote Democrat in the coming midterm elections: 44%, compared with 37% who said they preferred Republicans.
Voters still on the fence made up 13%.
New data from Pew Research shows a similar souring of views on Republicans, with the research firm saying Democratic candidates hold an 8-percentage-point advantage over Republican candidates in the midterm election on November 3.
Data also show greater engagement among Democratic voters than among their GOP counterparts, which is significant, given that the opposite was true leading up to the midterms in 2022.
Republicans Rethinking Strategies as Midterms Draw Near
Current projections have Republicans scrambling to rally support for their candidates as the November midterms approach.
President Trump has also changed his tune on mail-in voting, urging Republicans to cast their vote by any means necessary in an attempt to increase Republican voter turnout.
In a video posted to his Truth Social account, the president told voters not to “wait” to cast their vote. “Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day,” he said.
His comments follow years of casting doubt on mail-in voting. Just last month, the president slammed the US Supreme Court for a ruling that shuttered several of his proposed policies, including efforts to overhaul the vote-by-mail system.
GOP Super PACs Doubling Down on Key Battleground States
Super PACs supporting Republican candidates are also reallocating resources to critical races and making hard decisions to abandon others that look to be lost causes.
One is the Senate race in North Carolina, where Republicans have largely left Michael Whatley to fend for himself after polls indicated he has little to no chance against his Democratic opponent, former governor Roy Cooper.
In states like Texas, however, Republican Ken Paxton’s Senate run against Democrat James Talarico has seen a $100 million infusion.
Candidates in Iowa and Ohio are also seeing more support as Republicans try to stave off Democrats from retaking the Senate majority.
Even Former Supporters are Turning Their Backs on Republicans
In Kansas, two former Republican governors, Mike Hayden and Bill Graves, have crossed party lines and endorsed Democratic senatorial candidate Adam Hamilton, who is running against Republican incumbent Senator Roger Marshall.
The GOP funding machine has been forced to pay more attention to the Kansas race as a group dubbed “Republicans for Hamilton” has banded together behind the Democratic candidate in what observers said was a totally unexpected switch.
The former Republican governors criticized Marshall for failing to care for his constituents, calling out Washington for pushing policies that “leave behind” Kansas farmers, particularly Trump’s “chaotic” tariffs.
Trump Calls Out Outlets, Accuses Them of Putting Out Fake News
The president has not taken kindly to the poor poll numbers he and the Republicans have been receiving.
In a recent interview, Trump specifically named CNN and MSNBC as news outlets that he feels have an agenda against him.
“I do respect the free press,” the president said. “But I don’t respect fake news.”
“I’ll give you an example. CNN and MSDNC [sic], which is MS Now – they changed the name because they do so poorly… I won the popular vote. I won all seven swing states. They said, “If you won three swing states, I won all seven.” I won the counties. It’s very important: 86% popular vote. Everything, and very conclusively, I haven’t had a good story on CNN for years. They’re incapable of being – they’re fake news. Same thing on MS Now,” Trump added.
About the Author: Tim Ramos
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations, covering everything from finance and politics to travel, entertainment, and sports, in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
