Trump‘s approval numbers have taken a bit of a hit lately.
Some new data just came out, and it shows that things aren’t looking too great for him five months after stepping back into the Oval Office.
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Trump’s overall approval rating has slipped since January
A recent poll by Emerson College Polling showed that around 45% of people said they’re cool with Trump as president.
But 46% weren’t too happy with him, and 9% weren’t really sure either way.
Back in January, though, his approval was sitting at 49%. So yeah, it dipped a little.
More Americans now think the country is on the wrong track
The same poll also asked people how they felt about where the country is heading.
Turns out 53% think the US is heading in the wrong direction, while 48% still believe things are on track.
Democrats have a slight edge going into the midterms
“Looking ahead to next year’s Midterm Election, the Democrats have a slight edge over the Republicans, with independents breaking for the Democratic candidate 37% to 27%,” said Spencer Kimball, who is the executive director of Emerson College Polling.
“However, a significant 36% of independents are undecided, so this number is expected to shift.”
So basically, things could change a lot, but for now, Democrats have the upper hand — barely.
A second poll confirms the downward trend
Another poll backed this up too.
This one came from the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project, and it showed Trump’s approval at 44%, while 51% disapproved.
Trump’s support in Texas shows signs of softening
Texas usually leans red, so this drop is worth noting.
Fox said that 51% of people in the Texas poll didn’t like how Trump was handling the economy, and only 39% approved.
On top of that, 52% were unhappy with how he was dealing with inflation and prices. Just 34% were okay with it.
Most of the criticism came from Democrats, but even among Texas Republicans, support slipped a bit. It was 89% back in April and now it’s down to 87%.
Trump’s controversial decisions have drawn criticism
Before any of these polls came out, Trump was already catching heat for a bunch of decisions he made.
One was this thing called the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ Another was sending in the National Guard during the LA protests over his immigration policies.
The Iran-Israel conflict added more complexity
The polling was done before Trump got into the whole Iran and Israel mess.
He ended up brokering a ceasefire between the two countries earlier this week.
But before that, he ordered airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. Iran didn’t sit back. They hit back with their own airstrike on a US base in Qatar, and another airbase in Western Iraq got targeted too.
Trump’s NATO comments raised eyebrows
At a NATO summit, Trump brought up the Iran strike and said something that got people talking.
“They were very nice. They gave us warning,” said Trump. “They said, ‘We’re going to shoot them. Is 1 o’clock okay?’ I said, ‘It’s fine’.” he said.
“Everybody was emptied off the base so they couldn’t get hurt, expect for the gunners. Out of 14 high-end missiles that were shot at the base in Qatar, all 14 (as you know) were shot down by our equipment. Amazing stuff.
“It’s like shooting a bullet with a bullet. It’s the same thing, if you think about it. 14 out of 14 and they weren’t even that surprised. I said ‘Do you do that well often?’ and they said ‘We pretty much do, sir’.”