"Corrupt," "cruel": Americans send Trump, GOP a midterm warning
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President Trump gestures to members of the media on Feb. 13 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images.
Nearly half of Americans would describe President Trump as "corrupt," "racist" and "cruel" in new polling full of midterm warning signs for Republicans.
Why it matters: Trump's approval numbers are falling across the board.
By the numbers: In a new Economist/YouGov poll of 1,682 adults published Monday, about 56% of Americans strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump's job performance — and they're using harsh words to show their discontent.
- About 47% of those surveyed said they would use "racist" to describe the president. 24% would not describe him that way, and 29% had no opinion.
- Roughly 49% of Americans would use "corrupt" to describe Trump, whose wealth has grown since returning to the White House. 23% would not describe him that way, and 29% have no opinion.
- And 46% of adults would describe the president as "cruel," compared to 22% who don't consider him to be so. 32% have no opinion.
What they're saying: "The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in an emailed statement.
- "The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world."
Zoom out: The president's party typically loses House seats during midterms, but Republicans are concerned that the Senate could also be in play this year.
- Inflation and the economy were Americans' top two issues in the poll. While inflation is cooling, consumers are still bearing the brunt of higher prices.
- According to the poll, Trump's net approval is lower now than former President Biden's was at this point in his term and lower than Trump, himself, was at this point in his previous stint.
- Despite that, Trump enjoys a higher net approval among Republicans than he enjoyed at this point in his first term.
The bottom line: Trump may be encountering the same dynamic that helped him surpass Biden in early 2024 polling — the economy may be stable, but many Americans do not feel that in their own finances.
Go deeper: A year into Trump's term, voters say Biden was better
Methodology: The YouGov/Economist poll was conducted from Feb. 13–16 and surveyed 1,682 U.S. adult citizens, of those sampled, 1,512 are registered voters. The margin of error is ± 3.1%.
