President Donald Trump appears to be in deep denial about his historically low approval ratings.
“Except what is written and broadcast in the Fake News, I now have the highest poll numbers I’ve ever had, some in the 60’s and even 70’s. Thank you. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote Sunday night in a Truth Social post.
Reached for comment, the White House declined to say which survey the president was referencing.
“The majority of Americans – and a record-high amount of Republicans – approve of the job President Trump is doing because he’s fulfilling every single core promise he made to voters on the campaign trail,” spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement.
But poll after poll has found that the president is underwater on key issues and failing to win over the voters he will need to maintain control of Congress during the midterms.
Trump’s overall job approval rating has hovered for months in the low 40s, primarily driven by independent voters souring on his domestic policies, veteran pollster Larry Sabato told CNN on Sunday. A Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on August 18 found that Trump’s approval rating had tanked to match its lowest level of his second term.
A Gallup poll in July also found that Trump’s approval rating had dipped to 37 percent—the worst rating of his second term—after a 10 percentage-point decline since his inauguration in January.
Trump’s self-congratulatory post, however, appeared the same day that one of his closest allies, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, went on Fox News to parrot the demonstrably false MAGA party line that voters have never been happier with Trump.
“Donald Trump is riding high with all-time-high approval numbers from his time in public office because he is getting the job done and delivering for the American people,” Donalds told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo.
In fact, polls this month from CNN, CBS, and Fox News found that the net approval rating on Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was -19 to -22, making the most unpopular legislation in decades, according to CNN’s numbers guru Harry Enten.
The president’s approval rating for handling inflation—which is by far the most pressing issue for U.S. voters—is also deep underwater, at -25, according to Enten.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom—who has been satirizing the president’s all-caps rants, bizarre punctuation, and non-sequiturs—was quick to mock Trump’s alternate-reality view of his popularity.
“EXCEPT WHAT IS WRITTEN AND BROADCAST IN THE FAKE NEWS, I NOW HAVE THE HIGHEST POLL NUMBERS I’VE EVER HAD, SOME IN THE 60’S AND EVEN 70’S. THANK YOU. MAKE AMERICA GAVIN AGAIN!!! — GCN” the governor’s press office wrote in a post on X.
