33 Percent and Falling: America Just Left Trump a One-Star Review

Thirty-three percent. That is Donald Trump's approval rating in the new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, released this morning. Sixty-six percent disapprove. Fifty-two percent disapprove strongly. That is not a rough patch. That is a country holding up a sign that says "we see you" in letters big enough to read from Air Force One.

And because I know somebody in my comments is already typing "fake news poll," let me get the boring stuff out of the way. The survey talked to 2,545 adults from October 9 to 13. Margin of error is plus or minus two points. The Post says it is lower than at any point in his first term. USA Today notes it nearly mirrors a Fox News poll from October 14 that was the worst approval Trump has ever gotten in Fox's own polling. So if you want to call it rigged, you are going to have to call Fox rigged too. Go ahead. I will wait.

Now the part that should make every Republican campaign manager reach for the antacids. On the cost of living, Trump is at 21 percent approval. Twenty-one. Seventy-seven percent disapprove. On inflation, 23 percent approve. On the economy overall, 28 percent. Now 48 percent of Americans say they are financially worse off than when he came back in 2025, and the Post says that is the highest share saying that about any president in their polling since 1986.

Since 1986. People who were not born yet in 1986 are now staring at grocery receipts and blaming him for it. Correctly.

Here is my favorite stat, and by favorite I mean the one that made me laugh out loud in my kitchen. Back in February, before Trump launched the war with Iran, 71 percent of people said gasoline was affordable. Today 71 percent say it is not. Same number, flipped like a pancake. You did that, sir. Nobody else. You picked the war, the war hit shipping, and now the pump is a crime scene. Sixty-five percent say taking military action against Iran was a mistake, and 70 percent disapprove of how he is handling it.

And it is not just the wallet. Two-thirds say he is using the presidency to enrich himself. That is up from 56 percent last fall. Eight in 10 say it is inappropriate that he pushed to put his name on the Kennedy Center. Seventy-four percent say it is inappropriate that the federal government paid for TV ads promoting Trump and his policies. Sixty-six percent call him "too extreme." At least six in 10 say he is not committed to free speech, a free press, free and fair elections, or respecting Congress and the courts.

So, to recap: the public thinks he is broke-ing them, enriching himself, and also not super into democracy. Strong closing argument for the midterms, fellas.

Speaking of which. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. That is 16 days from today. Democrats now lead by eight points among registered and likely voters for the House, up from three in July. By 58 to 39, registered voters say they want a Democratic Congress as a check on Trump rather than a Republican one to back his agenda. For the first time since 2014 in Post-ABC polling, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on the economy, 40 to 33.

And yes, I see the bit where people are not exactly in love with the Democratic Party either. Fifty-four percent have an unfavorable view of it. Cool. Sixty-three percent dislike the Republican Party, and 69 percent have an unfavorable view of the MAGA movement. When you are losing a popularity contest to a party people are actively annoyed with, that is not bad luck. That is a verdict.

One more nugget for my fellow lefties who keep getting told democratic socialism is political poison. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats who support the Democratic Socialists of America say they are certain to vote. Just saying. The kids with the tote bags are showing up.

Now, the Post is careful, and I will be too. Polls do not cast ballots. Republicans still have more money for ads, and turnout decides everything. A poll this bad is worth exactly nothing if people read it, feel smug, and stay on the couch. Smug does not count. Ballots count.

But I am done pretending this is a close call on the merits. A president at 33 percent, at 21 percent on the cost of living, with seven in 10 people saying the country is going the wrong direction, does not get to keep calling himself the voice of the people. The people are talking. They are just not saying what he wants to hear.

So here is my question, and please, Trump fans, I genuinely want your answer. If 66 percent of the country is wrong and only you are right, what number would it take before you admit the emperor is walking around without any damn clothes?