# Trump Approval ratings fell below 40% and stayed under **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 18, 2026, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391 "2026-08-18T12:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/61 "2026-08-24T11:36:06Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > That anyone supports this mess shows how completely dysfunctional those people are. Yes, but WHY are they dysfunctional? Their genes are presumably as good as genes during the Enlightenment. (Has anyone compared the IQs of MAGA people vs sane Americans?) Is social media to blame? The anxieties of present-day life? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/62 "2026-08-24T11:40:20Z")
Some watch propaganda all day long on Fox or other conservative media, so they only see positive stories about Trump and negative, false, and scary stories about anyone opposing him. Some are essentially cult members. And, MAGA is a comfortable place for bigots of all stripes – racists, misogynists, white supremacists, homo- and transphobes – and Trump says it’s OK to feel, say, and act on those beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/63 "2026-08-24T11:46:53Z")
> [@Gordon\_G](#): > > Yes, but WHY are they dysfunctional? Their genes are presumably as good as genes during the Enlightenment. (Has anyone compared the IQs of MAGA people vs sane Americans?) Is social media to blame? The anxieties of present-day life? The scope of news they get is very limited. They only watch/listen/read(read is questionable) things that support their racist and bigoted views. And so it’s blame, blame, blame the ‘others’ for their crappy choices in life. Some though, like my BIL support him because they are in the top tier and get tax ‘relief’ or because he supports oil production and is against renewables. Also - “Well, the insurrection was bad, but you can’t expect me to vote for a woman, I had no choice but to vote for Trump” ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/64 "2026-08-24T11:47:54Z")
Marjorie Taylor Greene has recently been attacking Trump relentlessly about how he’s splintered MAGA. Says his record low approval ratings are a direct result of him abandoning his 2024 campaign promises: no foreign wars and make things affordable. Says of course the GOP is going to get shellacked in the midterms. She’s not wrong, but at the same time it’s plain as day that she’s cynically positioning herself for a 2028 Presidential run. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/65 "2026-08-24T11:52:15Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > it’s plain as day that she’s cynically positioning herself for a 2028 Presidential run God help us. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/66 "2026-08-24T15:24:31Z")
Well the thought is that she,Tucker Carlson, and a bunch of others who Trump now calls “low IQ” individuals, run as a third party, recognizing that the GOP nod is either Vance or Rubio, dependent on who has kissed Trump’s rear better. And yeah that would be a fine thing. > **[Ex-Trump loyalists join forces, raising prospects of high-profile third party](https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/ex-trump-loyalists-join-forces-raising-prospects-of-high-profile-third-party-presidend-iran-epstein-maga)** > > A group of former prominent Make America Great Again supporters who have broken with President Donald Trump are now signaling a potential third party. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/67 "2026-08-25T07:57:03Z")
It’s still a condemnation of the country he has even double digit approval. > [@bobot](#): > > I hope that see-saw does not occur just yet. A Democratic president to follow Trump is going to be blamed for all of the Trump/Republican fuckups that have been shat upon our nation. Let another Republican follow Trump. (I can hardly believe that I just called for a Republican president!) But I am really coming around on the idea that a Democratic congress is the way to go following this shitstorm, and let a Republican president answer for the state of things. A Republican President wouldn’t answer for anything, they’ve learned from Trump that they can just ignore the law and do as they will. They are beyond punishment or consequences. It would just mean that a non-senile Republican would be in a position to complete the US’s transition to permanent one party rule. > [@Gordon\_G](#): > > Yes, but WHY are they dysfunctional? Slavery. It all goes back to allowing the slave states in, including their culture of outright denial of reality they developed to justify holding slaves. The result is that America built into its foundations a large subculture ideologically devoted to hatred, ignorance and insanity, which now controls the Republican party and the country. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/68 "2026-08-25T10:41:20Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > A Republican President wouldn’t answer for anything, they’ve learned from Trump that they can just ignore the law and do as they will. They are beyond punishment or consequences. It would just mean that a non-senile Republican would be in a position to complete the US’s transition to permanent one party rule. Even with a wholly Democratic Congress? > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The result is that America built into its foundations a large subculture ideologically devoted to hatred, ignorance and insanity, which now controls the Republican party and the country. I agree completely. Racism is baked into the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/69 "2026-08-25T16:34:16Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Even with a wholly Democratic Congress? Their first priority will be to shield the Republicans and suck up to them, not punish them. More than the welfare of the country, more than their own survival (as demonstrated by their reaction to the Jan. 6th attack), pandering to the Republicans at _any_ cost is their primary, overriding goal in life. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/71 "2026-08-25T16:46:17Z")
**Warning** for @Der_Trihs, bumping up to the Modloop for possible suspension. You’ve been modnoted and warned about hijacking threads and it doesn’t seem like you care at all. I am recommending it is time for a suspension. 5 warnings in the last year is far too many. While reviewing, you get a day off to think about posting here on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/73 "2026-10-20T01:01:23Z")
And a new approval low: **31%** > - Democrats lead Republicans 47% to 35% on congressional generic ballot, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows > - Women favor Democrats 50% to 32% over Republicans, widening party’s congressional advantage > - Some 68% disapprove of Trump’s handling of economy, including 37% of ​self-identified Republicans [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-record-low-31-midterms-near-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-10-19/](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-record-low-31-midterms-near-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-10-19/) ---
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/74 "2026-10-20T21:47:50Z")
I think at this point if all the people who approved of Trump voted Republican and only the people who strongly disapproved voted Democrat, it would still be a double digits bloodbath for GOP. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/75 "2026-10-22T02:34:10Z")
The question remains: Why in hell is it not down to 10%, if not 5? Zero is too much to hope for but I could live with one American in twenty still liking the man. But one in three makes me sick. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/76 "2026-10-22T02:40:59Z")
Take your pick: 1. Sunk cost fallacy 2. My team right or wrong 3. Cult-like worship 4. Extreme propaganda silo 5. Axiomatic “a Democrat would have been worse” It’s way past rationality. Some people have previously talked about a lunatic fringe being as much as 5% in a normal distribution. Add in all of the above, and it’s sadly easy to get to 30%. And given _just_ #5 above, figure an even more terrifying percent of those Republicans/MAGA who _do disapprove_ would hold their noses and vote for Trump or whomever he endorses. The only _upside_ to his irrational polling numbers, is that it seems to be dragging down other, possibly more competently evil candidates for the midterms. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/77 "2026-10-22T02:46:06Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The question remains: Why in hell is it not down to 10%, if not 5? Zero is too much to hope for but I could live with one American in twenty still liking the man. Even Nixon still had an approval rate of 24% when he finally resigned. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/78 "2026-10-22T02:48:25Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The question remains: Why in hell is it not down to 10%, if not 5? Zero is too much to hope for but I could live with one American in twenty still liking the man. I recently learned about identity-protective cognition which is a form of reasoning where an individual dismisses evidence that contradicts their core beliefs. The thing is that it’s not based on the intelligence of the individual, rather isn’t a subconscious process. I first observed this phenomenon as an undergrad in my Biology 101 course where I saw some of my fellow students shut down when we covered the chapter on evolution. I’ve seen the same thing with Trump supporters who simply shut down, refusing to engage with any evidence that contradicts their world view. Fake news. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/79 "2026-10-22T02:53:24Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Even Nixon still had an approval rate of 24% when he finally resigned. Despite all his considerable faults, Nixon was at least a patriotic American who accomplished many good things – opened up trade with China, established the EPA, and made a good-faith effort to reform health care. Whereas virtually everything that Trump does is wrong and stupid, often reckless, and often entirely self-serving. That Trump’s approval rating is higher than Nixon’s speaks only to the enshittification and ignorant gullibility of contemporary American society. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/80 "2026-10-22T03:13:53Z")
> _One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back._ –Carl Sagan ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/81 "2026-10-22T04:09:17Z")
There wasn’t any evidence to approve him before, so why would the evidence that he’s awful convince all those people to disapprove? Evidence doesn’t matter to them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391/82 "2026-10-22T09:11:22Z")
Don’t forget that the richest men on earth are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to propagandize in Trump’s favor. That kind of money can’t buy everything, but it can buy the good will of fools. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-approval-ratings-fell-below-40-and-stayed-under/1032391.md?page=5)