Trump lashes out against "fake polls" as his approval ratings sink
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President Trump talks to reporters after inspecting the North Lawn with members of the White House grounds crew to look for a place to put a 100-foot-tall flag pole on April 23. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Trump, in an early morning Truth Social post Monday, slammed "FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS" that he said should be "investigated for ELECTION FRAUD."
The big picture: As Trump nears the first 100 days of implementing his sweeping and often highly controversial agenda, several prominent polls have shown his approval ratings sinking.
- Beyond his overall job approval score, recent surveys have also demonstrated voters growing increasingly alarmed by his methods, Axios Zachary Basu notes — notably on the signature issues he ran on: the economy and immigration.
Driving the news: But the president, naming surveys from ABC/The Washington Post and The "Failing" New York Times, along with the "FoxNews Pollster," called for outlets to be investigated, arguing they're "looking for a negative result."
- Trump cited "Great Pollster John McLaughlin," of McLaughlin & Associates — a top Trump campaign polling firm.
- He wrote that 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, [lose] a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse."
- Trump added that the outlets are "SICK" and "TRULY THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!"
- In a separate post, he lamented a "COMPROMISED AND CORRUPT" press that "writes BAD STORIES, and CHEATS, BIG, ON POLLS."
By the numbers: Trump's overall approval rating was 39% in the recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll of 2,464 U.S. adults, compared with 55% who disapprove of how he's handling his job.
- In February, 45% approved and 53% disapproved.
- Per the Washington Post, the rating is lower than it was for any past president at the 100-day mark in their first or second term since Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term.
Zoom out: A New York Times/Siena College poll of 913 voters nationwide released last week had the president's approval rating at 42%, which the Times also said was "historically low" for a commander-in-chief at this point in his term.
- 54% said they disapproved of how Trump is handling his job as president.
And according to a recent Fox News survey of 1,104 registered voters, border security was the only issue area polled where the president was not underwater.
- His overall approval was 44%, which the outlet said is down five points from last month.
Flashback: Trump started his second term with higher approval ratings than in 2017.
- But even then, his initial job approval ratings were weaker than other presidents.
Friction point: As Trump pushes through a sweeping agenda that's reordered the federal government at breakneck speed, a number of his policies are raising legal and ethical concerns. As a result, he's been met with myriad lawsuits and courts have blocked several moves.
- Per Times/Siena polling, 54% of registered voters said he'd "gone too far" with his changes to the political and economic system, twice as many as said he'd been "about right."
Go deeper: Americans souring on Trump's economic strategy, polls say
