President Donald Trump has asserted that polling organizations reporting a decline in his approval ratings recently should face investigation for what he termed “election fraud.”
Trump specifically pointed to recent surveys conducted by The New York Times, ABC News/The Washington Post, and Fox News, which indicated his approval stood at 42 percent, 39 percent, and 44 percent, respectively.
In reaction to these figures, Trump posted on Truth Social Monday: “They are negative criminals who apologize to their subscribers and readers after I win elections big, much bigger than their polls showed I would win, loose a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse.”
Significance of the Demand
Trump frequently dismisses unfavorable polls as fraudulent while championing those showing him in a positive light. His demand for an investigation into established polling bodies represents an intensified effort to undermine entities he views as opposed to his administration.
However, accurately polling Trump’s supporters has historically posed distinct challenges for researchers, fueling worries that the extent of his backing is frequently understated. Furthermore, presidential approval polls are known to be quite fluid, offering merely a momentary glimpse of public opinion.
Key Details from the Polls
The survey by ABC News/The Washington Post indicated that Trump’s approval rating had fallen to the lowest point recorded for any president in the past eight decades at this juncture in their term.
Meanwhile, the poll from The New York Times/Siena revealed that merely 31 percent of those surveyed endorsed Trump’s management of the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and only 43 percent approved of his economic stewardship.
Trump’s Rebuttal
Addressing the pollsters, Trump stated: “Great pollster John McLaughlin, one of the most highly respected in the industry, has just stated that The Failing New York Times poll, and the ABC/Washington Post poll, about a person named DONALD J. TRUMP, ME, are FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.”
He continued, “They suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, and there is nothing that anyone, or anything, can do about it. THEY ARE SICK, almost only write negative stories about me no matter how well I am doing (99.9% at the Border, BEST NUMBER EVER!), AND ARE TRULY THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! I wish them well, but will continue to fight to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Reactions and Perspectives
In a separate Truth Social message on Monday, Trump declared: “We don’t have a Free and Fair ‘Press’ in this Country anymore. We have a Press that writes BAD STORIES, and CHEATS, BIG, ON POLLS. IT IS COMPROMISED AND CORRUPT. SAD!” John McLaughlin, serving as Trump’s campaign pollster, remarked to Newsweek, suggesting bias: “When President Trump received 50 percent of the popular vote, but The New York Times includes only 37 percent of his voters in their poll and ABC/Washington Post has only 34 percent Trump supporters, it seems that they deliberately biased their polls against President Trump.”
Future Outlook
It is anticipated that Trump’s polling numbers will continue to ebb and flow in the upcoming weeks, reacting to significant policy matters like tariffs. Persistently unfavorable polling could potentially impact the Republican party’s performance in the midterm elections scheduled for November 2026.