Donald Trump is heading into Tuesday’s State of the Union address with a 60 percent disapproval rating—his worst numbers since the immediate aftermath of January 6, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. Nearly half the country, 47 percent, says they strongly disapprove of the 79-year-old president.
The timing couldn’t be worse. The poll dropped just days after the Supreme Court handed Trump what’s being called the most significant loss in the modern history of the presidency, striking down his tariffs.
Rather than read the room, Trump doubled down. On Friday, he announced a new 10 percent global tariff from the Oval Office. By Saturday, he’d raised it to 15 percent.
“It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately,” he posted on Truth Social.
Voters aren’t buying it. Sixty-four percent disapprove of tariffs specifically, and 60 percent approved of the Supreme Court slapping them down. A full 66 percent believe tariffs are raising the cost of goods—which, of course, they are.
Inflation is Trump’s biggest problem: 65 percent disapprove of his handling of it. His handling of military force abroad, the Epstein files cover-up, and ICE’s immigration raids are all underwater too.
Perhaps most damning: 65 percent of voters believe Trump has overstepped his authority with his flurry of executive orders over the past year.
The numbers are bad enough that GOP pollsters are getting nervous about the midterms. Republicans are clinging to a small House majority, and Democrats have a real shot at flipping it.
“When it’s above 50 percent, the party loses seats but not that many,” Republican pollster Whit Ayres told Politico of approval ratings. “When the president’s job approval is below, the average loss of seats is 32.”
Not that Democrats are in much better shape. When asked who they trust more on big issues, 33 percent said Trump, 31 percent said Democrats, and 31 percent said neither.
