# Who in America is actually happy about the Trump/politics situation today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [April 6, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069 "2026-04-06T17:05:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/81 "2026-04-09T01:30:54Z")
I had a Trump supporter tell me today that his tariffs are great, because soon we won’t have to pay income tax anymore. It is amazing how detached from reality they are. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/82 "2026-04-09T04:13:46Z")
NYT article about angry MAGA supporters who didn’t want a war. [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/us/politics/trump-truth-social-iran.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/us/politics/trump-truth-social-iran.html) ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/83 "2026-04-09T05:05:13Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Only for ordinary people. Billionaires have their own economy, that is insulated from the ups and downs of the stock market. Billionaires are happy as long as Progressives have no actual power, and therefore no ability to tax their money away. Taxes are what they fear, not markets. (Note: this is strictly my opinion, and I can’t defend it with facts or cites; but if it is not true, then why be a billionaire?) I mean, it’s not subtle: > **[New Report: U.S. Billionaires Got $1.5 Trillion Richer in Trump's First Year...](https://americansfortaxfairness.org/new-report-u-s-billionaires-got-1-5-trillion-richer-trumps-first-year/)** > > 22% Boost in 2025 Lifted Total Wealth of Nation’s Billionaires to $8.2 Trillion As President Trump’s second term nears one year, billionaire wealth has surged while average Americans struggle. A new Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) analysis of Forbes... > **[Wealth of 10 richest US billionaires increased by over $360 billion in the...](https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/wealth-of-10-richest-us-billionaires-increased-by-over-360-billion-in-the-last-year-as-president-trump-and-congress-prepare-massive-tax-giveaway-for-the-ultra-rich/)** > > Despite recent tariff-related market turmoil, the 10 richest U.S. billionaires saw their wealth increase by $365 billion > **[Top 15 US Billionaires Gained Nearly $1 Trillion in Wealth in Trump’s First Year](https://truthout.org/articles/top-15-us-billionaires-gained-nearly-1-trillion-in-wealth-in-trumps-first-year/)** > > The US has 935 billionaires, roughly a dozen of whom have jobs within the Trump administration. > **[America’s wealthiest billionaires got $698 billion richer this year—and...](https://fortune.com/2025/11/04/americas-wealthiest-billionaires-698-billion-richer-this-year-average-us-home-earned-83k-dollars-gap-get-wider-donald-trump-administration-oxfam-report-warns/)** > > The top 10 richest U.S. billionaires took home 833,631x more money than the typical American home, and inequality could get worse thanks to President Donald Trump’s tax changes, job scarcity, and a looming recession And this is not just the ordinary ‘them that’s got shall get’: > **[Billionaire wealth jumps three times faster in 2025 to highest peak ever,...](https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/billionaire-wealth-jumps-three-times-faster-2025-highest-peak-ever-sparking)** So I mean, there is a clear beneficiary of Trump’s politics, and it’s those that have massively supported his rise to power. They’re getting what they paid for, and everyone else gets the shit dripping (trickling?) down the chicken ladder. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/84 "2026-04-09T09:39:45Z")
Amazing how stable the “weak disapproval” line has been, for all fourteen months of this presidency. I would have expected that to rise the most, with each successive betrayed promise. I might say “yet more evidence of the media bubble of lies within which so many live”…but most of these folks must have voted against Trump, but (I’m guessing) many are relatively politically disengaged. Anyway, I’d like to know more about this 10% of the public, why their needle never moves, and how the Democrats can make sure more of them show up at the polls in November and beyond. (Maybe the composition of this “group” evolves, and its apparent stability is an illusion. That is, maybe each month a few more folks switch from “weakly approve” to “weakly disapprove”…but this is exactly balanced out by those switching from “weakly” to “strongly disapprove.”) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/85 "2026-04-09T12:36:18Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > I had a Trump supporter tell me today that his tariffs are great, because soon we won’t have to pay income tax anymore. Never mind if the tarriff makes everything twice or three times more expensive and that difference goes to the Treasury anyway, they just don’t want to see THEMSELVES paying tax out of their pocket. But this has been a huge segment of US voters _forever_. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/86 "2026-04-09T13:32:10Z")
If it’s of any value, over here we use the term “stealth taxes” for the kind of levies that get bundled in to the final price on the shelf - VAT, duty on alcohol and a few other things - and tariffs. People tend not to notice those (after an initial post-Budget grouse). ---
**Author:** ![Larsedik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larsedik/32/19832_2.png) [@Larsedik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larsedik)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/87 "2026-04-10T22:59:31Z")
Not to mention higher gasoline prices. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/88 "2026-04-10T23:22:24Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > So who in America is actually pleased about the state of things today? most of the trump family? ---
**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:** [April 11, 2026, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/89 "2026-04-11T05:34:00Z")
More than that or we wouldn’t have the 30% floor in his approval ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/90 "2026-04-13T21:42:51Z")
Trump campaigned on a platform of no forever wars and low low prices. He has governed in the opposite manner. In the teeth of this betrayal, 24% of the public has strong approval for him, which suggests to me a state of near-ecstasy. Or possibly Stockholm Syndrome. Or perhaps masochism - hey I don’t judge! There are of course a few that aren’t on the same page. Parts of the MAGA brain trust think that Trump is the anti-Christ. Wired magazine, sub req: > **[Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking if He’s the Antichrist](https://www.wired.com/story/staunch-trump-supporters-are-now-asking-if-hes-the-antichrist/)** > > The Iran war and a series of social media posts, including one depicting Trump as Jesus Christ, have some conservative commentators and fans suspecting the president may be the antichrist. MGT for example thinks that Trump posting an AI of himself as Jesus represents, “The anti-Christ spirit”. Trump says he was just being a doctor. It had to do with the Red Cross he said, though there were no depictions of the Red Cross on the image. Clint Russell, host of the right-wing Liberty Lockdown podcast, thinks there’s a decent chance that Trump is the antichrist. On the milder end of the spectrum far-right Texas pastor Joel Webbon thinks Trump is demon-possessed. So there’s a lot of debate among conservatives, and some of them are having difficulties finding their joy. Trump posted this last weekend: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SAhz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F290730d5-d5bb-4ee4-94b0-9ca587b84ab5_848x1216.jpeg) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SAhz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F290730d5-d5bb-4ee4-94b0-9ca587b84ab5_848x1216.jpeg) I’m not sure why Trump wants to heal Jeffrey Epstein, but I am not a conservative Christian theologian. Earlier last year, Trump pretended to be the pope: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_h-3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4325d522-45a7-4489-80cb-12f86513517d_862x1306.jpeg) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_h-3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4325d522-45a7-4489-80cb-12f86513517d_862x1306.jpeg) This weekend Trump posted that Pope Leo was weak on crime, as reported by the New York Times which doesn’t quite capture the mania of Trump’s rant: [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:u4o26nximjdtgooqshfz45zr/bafkreidouvlih6hcxidqge2i3upocshp7j4jhf3ftwr36c5ukulpvmqme4) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:u4o26nximjdtgooqshfz45zr/bafkreidouvlih6hcxidqge2i3upocshp7j4jhf3ftwr36c5ukulpvmqme4) I expect Trump’s trendline approval to remain above 35% over the next month, reflecting immense satisfaction with Trump among his base: they apparently like this kind of thing in all the ways that it matters. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/91 "2026-04-13T23:17:44Z")
Whatever 45/47 is, it has long been abundantly clear to us higgorunt furriners that he represents a viable, near plurality of American voters. What the bloody hell did you librull, progressive mob do to so intractably piss them off? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/92 "2026-04-14T00:41:56Z")
We exist. For them, that’s more than enough. And given the low turnout of eligible voters (not to mention the malleability of the “middle,” who only wake up about mid-October every four years), I’d hesitate to conclude that the Orange Peril truly represents anywhere near a plurality. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/93 "2026-04-14T00:57:38Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Trump posted this last weekend: Hmmm…the favored colors of [Gargauth, demigod of betrayal and political corruption](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Gargauth), are red and white. He wasn’t portraying himself as Jesus, but rather just as a High Priest of Gargauth, a ['Lord of the Ninth Pit](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Gargauth#Church).’ I can’t imagine why those Christians are getting all hot and bothered by a bit of diabolic cosplay 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/94 "2026-04-14T01:35:59Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > In the teeth of this betrayal, 24% of the public has strong approval for him When Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, [his public approval rating was also 24%](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/richard-m-nixon-public-approval), and that was after Senate Republicans told him he couldn’t survive an Impeachment vote. [Harry Truman’s approval rating dropped as low as 22% in early 1952.](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/harry-s-truman-public-approval) I have a theory that 20-25% of Americans will approve of anything. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/95 "2026-04-14T01:41:05Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > We exist. For them, that’s more than enough. That’s a total crock. A self-justifying, self-defeating crock. And any analytical view that considers the “middle”, the uncommitted the “once per election cycle” as being moderate is flawed. They are the antithesis of a homogenous bloc. The bloc has elements that consider MAGA as too librull, Sanders as too capitalistic and all political points between. But in 2024 they broke marginally for 45/47. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/96 "2026-04-14T01:45:40Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I expect Trump’s trendline approval to remain above 35% over the next month, reflecting immense satisfaction with Trump among his base: they apparently like this kind of thing in all the ways that it matters. Reading comments on Truth Social, they actually did not like Trump as Jesus. However, I’m sure they will see Trump taking it down as an example of why they are happy about Trump. From a certain perspective, he learns from mistakes. Iran? If I go by the latest YouGov poll, [41 percent think it is going somewhat or very well for the U.S.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-war-opinion-poll-2026-04-12/), and 36 percent approve of his handling of the situation with Iran. These levels of approval on Iran tell me that Iran wouldn’t necessarily bring down Trump’s overall approval. I can think of at least three reasons approval of U.S. Iran war policy could be this high. One is that many voters are for anything Trump does. Another is that they like Trump’s method of waging war from the air as opposed to the U.S.ground invasions seen in the past. A third is that they believe in supporting their country when at war. Which would be the bigger factor, I do not know. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2026, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/97 "2026-04-14T05:25:13Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > What the bloody hell did you librull, progressive mob do to so intractably piss them off? Exist? > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I’d hesitate to conclude that the Orange Peril truly represents anywhere near a plurality. And yet, here we are. Should the squishy middle get a pass for that, especially after his first term? ---
**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:** [April 14, 2026, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/98 "2026-04-14T06:32:51Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I have a theory that 20-25% of Americans will approve of anything. Also known as the “[Crazification Factor](https://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html)”. > John: Hey, Bush is now at [37% approval](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/06/opinion/polls/main924485.shtml). I feel much less like Kevin McCarthy screaming in traffic. But I wonder what his base is – > > Tyrone: 27%. > > John: … you said that immmediately, and with some authority. > > Tyrone: [Obama vs. Alan Keyes](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/). Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That’s crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/99 "2026-04-16T20:54:45Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I don’t believe the regime was ready to fall and certainly wouldn’t have left without millions more dead. And Trump didn’t accomplish a regime change in Iran, any more than he did in Venezuela. In both, the next person in line (by formal constitution or custom) simply stepped up as they would if the leader died naturally. Trump thinks he can use the crude tool of threatening (or doing) more bombing to intimidate the successors into taking his orders rather than having to put troops and his flunkies on the ground, or at least he said so after removing Maduro. (I believe Trump in his usual gangster "mind"set feels the successors should be glad he “put them” into power!) But except for some vaguely conciliatory words in the beginning from the Venezuelan VP-now-President, I don’t think it’s worked out that way. Partly because that kind of threat is too indirect, a string you can pull but not push on, and partly because they know how quickly and capriciously Trump changes his own “mind”. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069/100 "2026-04-17T18:46:00Z")
The “squishy middle” seems to be composed of people who somehow are still on the fence about all Trump’s nonsense, and haven’t resolved to vote one way or the other until the situation is finished. I don’t get it. I can’t see how someone can look at all the corruption, disregarding of political and Presidential norms, and the general craziness of his first term, and _still_ think that maybe he’s a viable choice because there was inflation in Biden’s term and eggs got expensive. I mean, I can see how someone could be drinking the MAGA Kool-Aid, and I can see how someone could decide permanently against Trump, but for the life of me, I can’t understand how someone _still_ falls in the middle. Yet clearly there are lots of them- Trump was soundly beaten in 2020, and yet turned around and won in 2024. So there are still a lot of people who flip-flopped for… reasons. And who will probably do so again come 2026 and 2028. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-in-america-is-actually-happy-about-the-trump-politics-situation-today/1029069.md?page=6)