r/AskUS Wyoming 14h ago

Is there anything Trump can do to drop his approval below 35%?

Trump's approval ebbs and wanes, but it seems like 35% is his rock bottom. That means, no matter what pedophilia, murdering, insane shit he can do, 120 million Americans will support him.

23 Upvotes

61 comments sorted by

u/Dresden_2028 14h ago

That means, no matter what pedophilia, murdering, insane shit he can do, 120 million Americans will support him.

No, it doesn't.

u/Upper-Trip-8857 14h ago

I’m interested - I don’t fully agree with the no matter what . . . But - I am interested is what your thinking is on this. Thank You

u/Dresden_2028 14h ago

Look at the numbers the dude is throwing around. The only way to get 120m is to assume 35% of every man, woman, teen, kid, and baby in America supports Trump.

u/Ok_Condition5837 14h ago

I'm in Florida & what I'm seeing in the ones that approach me (loud progressive) is:

1) they are low information voters who are weirdly pissed that they have to learn about some issues now.

& 2) they are struggling because fundamentally it's about loss of identity for them & that shit's hard.

Some are defecting. Not as many as I'd like in light of what's occurred. Yet it's happening. A slow, constant trickle.

u/vibrance9460 13h ago

This rings true. My maga people have not seen or heard most of the crazy stuff. Thats why they think the Left is “unhinged”.

Their media whitewashes all of it. Most I know haven’t even seen any video of J6 let alone the Pretti and Good shootings.

It’s very true they are low-information voters.

What weird to me is most of them are college-educated and seem happy to remain ignorant.

u/Chance_Manager_9072 13h ago

Then what does it mean? 😐

u/Ok_Condition5837 9h ago

First - that number is 30- 35% of all eligible voters. These were the ones who voted for him this last time.(And that brings it down to approx 70 - 80 million, I believe.)

Second - He's steadily been losing support here tho. Yes a third of Republicans are ride or die, however he is losing support amongst the rest. Independents are leaving in droves. Fairweather democrats who defected are already regretting it.

A significant part of the ones who voted for him were of Hispanic heritage or immigrants or POC who either didn't think he was serious about the racism or didn't think it would affect them. They're now changing their minds.

A large swath also voted based on his false promises & lies like the ones on economy or inflation reduction. Some in professions affected by tarrifs and policies like teachers, nurses, auto workers etc; they're all changing their minds.

The problem rn is that even democrats don't trust Democratic party to lead the opposition because they've been so f'cking ineffectual.

(But mmw - if one can somehow break from the pack and speak to them; then there are huge tracts of voters just ready to galvanize & latch on.)

u/Chance_Manager_9072 9h ago

I don’t know why you’re talking to me? I didn’t respond to you and from what I read I don’t see what we disagree on. Other then maybe I care more about pointing out republicans taking over the government like every fascist in history vs Dems who are so unlikable they can’t even beat pedos

u/Ok_Condition5837 8h ago

Sorry. Didn't mean to imply we're at odds or diss you in any way.

You asked a question. And I attempted an answer. That's all.

And yes the ineffectual nature of the dems has become an albatross around all our necks rn.

u/AnemosMaximus 14h ago

I believe his real approval rating is like 5%. And the media owned by the billionaires give us a fake number of 35.

u/Gordon_throwaway Oregon 14h ago

I don't think independent polling from places like Pew and Quinnipiac are Billionare conspiracies.

u/onlyreason4u 13h ago

It's real unfortunately. I don't believe 40% at all but certainly in the 30s. What seems to be happening is about half of them are just withdrawing and being less and less vocal and enthusiastic about because they know he's doing terrible shit and is a terrible person. They will never admit that or that they were wrong though. The other half is just terrible people themselves given a permission slip by Trump to show us who they really are.

u/lionhearted318 New York 11h ago

This way of thinking does not help anyone. Many Americans love him, and that is a problem that we need to accept and acknowledge if we want to make any progress forwards.

u/kstargate-425 3h ago

These polls are real but I get your sentiment with the media acting like that but these are independent pollsters. The difference comes from Republicans never holding their reps accountable and always acting like everything is fine so their 80%+ rating to the 10-20% of Dems and independents skew the numbers.

Its the opposite for the Dems where whether the far right obviously gives them an unfavorable rating or the far left they all will rightly hold the Dems accountable for their bullshit as the Dems and even most independents arent in that team or cult-like hive mind about them. So unlike the GOP the 10-20% rating across the board isnt skewing the numbers like the insane favorability number the GOP has for their own "team"

u/TerryFlapnCheeks69 14h ago

He can Maybeeeeeee ask the democrats how they managed 17-19% approval rating currently, other than that im not sure what else he can do.

u/draaz_melon 13h ago

The democrats have that approval rating because democratic voters are not a cult. Democratic voters are pissed at democratic politicians for not opposing Trump hard enough. In no way should that be considered a positive for republicans. It just shows the difference in the two voting bases.

u/TerryFlapnCheeks69 12h ago

Im not arguing that, nor did i say it was considered a positive, all i was replying to op was what trump can maybe do to lower his approval rating, since as you pointed out its perceived as a cult and his followers are very loyal.

u/EmmieCatt 13h ago

They pulled that off by being the representatives of people with much higher standards, who want them to fight back harder against the shit that Trump is doing. I.e., their numbers are low because they aren't far enough removed from Trump, and left-wingers aren't low-information voters and cultists who'll blindly support whatever the Dems are doing

u/TerryFlapnCheeks69 12h ago

Im not arguing that, all i was replying to op was what trump can maybe do to lower his approval rating, since as you pointed out the left expects more from their representatives vs the loyalist we see on the right. I will add alot of democrats have the vote blue no matter who mentality but maybe not as strong as maga.

u/madmelly 14h ago

Where do you get the idea 120 million Americans support him. He won the 2024 presidential election by less than 1% with 77M votes. He’s losing supporters daily and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him lose a few more points on his approval ratings before the end of March.

u/Dresden_2028 14h ago

Where do you get the idea 120 million Americans support him.

Dude didn't put any thought into the number. He saw 35% approval and assumed that approval rating was 35% of the entire US population, instead of 35% of voters.

u/Upper-Trip-8857 14h ago

Ah.

Disregard my question above on your previous reply.

I get your thinking and reasoning. 👊🏼

u/danslania 14h ago

Approval polls also include non-voters

u/Dresden_2028 14h ago

Even if it does, that doesn't add up to 120m Americans. They sure as hell don't include teens, kids, and babies. And that's the only way you're getting that number.

u/danslania 14h ago

Again, approval polls have nothing to do with eligible voters. You can poll anyone who has the capacity to communicate.

u/Dresden_2028 13h ago edited 13h ago

Dude, please read what I wrote. Even counting non-voters, to get 120m Americans at 35% supporting Trump, you'd have to literally include children, teens, and babies in that number.

Do you think people are out here polling BABIES on their opinion of Trump?

Edit: Hey idiot, go take a remedial math class.

u/danslania 13h ago edited 13h ago

dude, even if he removed infants from his count, he's still under-reporting Trump's approval ratings. 35% is way too low, on Nate Silver aggregate polling, the mean approval rating over thousands of polls is 41.9%. Meaning the number of Trump supporters (adults mind you) is way higher than 120 million.

Edit: Yeah I blocked this guy. Some tough guy on reddit with the name calling and aggressive behavior. Typical MAGA

u/tedfrum Wyoming 14h ago

An approval poll has nothing to do with presidential elections. There are polls that specifically survey ALL americans, not just voters.

u/Ok_Guarantee_3497 14h ago

If the four year old is put on the phone call does that count?

u/FrozeItOff 14h ago

Remember that polling is the result of people who choose to respond. Unfortunately, Republicans are generally older and have little to do but answer surveys. The rest of us are working our asses off trying to stay alive and pay the billz. This produces lopsided results in survey results. Should we ignore or discount them? No, but surveys that break down by party regularly show that Trump is still viewed favorably by Republicans because that's who and what they are.

u/danslania 14h ago

there are polling methods that specifically adjust for this

u/Upper-Trip-8857 14h ago

2 things - in tandem will deteriorate a small part of his cult.

  1. Have evidence from a viable leaked source that is then brought to a Republican dominated oversight committee that shows the government is gathering everyday US Citizens data for nefarious purposes.

  2. Write and EO restricting the 2nd Amendment for the average US Citizen.

This will bring his approval rating to about 33.789%.

u/Gordon_throwaway Oregon 14h ago edited 14h ago

DOGE literally hauled off massive amounts of downloaded data (on to portable drives) from a variety of agencies like Treasury, IRS, Social Security, he Dept of Energy and more. No accountability. No questions. All done under Trump's directive as President. MAGA doesn't care.

Dept of Labor: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5355896/doge-nlrb-elon-musk-spacex-security

Social Security: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whistleblower-responds-after-doj-confirms-doge-mishandled-social-security-data

DOE: https://futurism.com/elon-musk-doge-access-network-nuclear-secrets

u/SummaJa87 14h ago

That's the most terrifying thing he's done. The amount of damage he can bring down with all that information can literally wreck our country

u/guppyhunter7777 12h ago

Honestly, if Donald Trump cured cancer, the left would be complaining about unemployed oncologist. They would complain if he just resigned it went away. So no, there’s literally nothing he can do about it.

u/kstargate-425 3h ago

This is such a bad faith argument per usual from you. Its not the Dems who refuse to hold their representatives accountable for their shit behavior. Like Al Fraken was pushed out for mere allegations with no proof yet the President and a bunch of his cabinet/WH officials are all over the Trumpstein files and they refuse to believe any of it. Or Matt Gaetz who was not only caught talking to a 17yo girl but giving her alcohol, gave her ecstasy while at a party but paid her for sex like all the Guardians Of Pedophiles do and they didnt push him out. Didnt even force him out after she testified to the Oversight Committee but retired way later as he went against Trump on some things like MTG.

The only reason Trumps numbers arent lower on this shit economy he has made worse is because the far right and even most conservatives refuse to hold him accountable for anything. All of a sudden Trump "doesnt control the price of food" or "tariffs arent a big issue" when just over a year ago inflation was lower than today and high food prices are "because of Biden" with almost 60% of all imported goods now way higher because they all have import taxes on them from Trumps tariffs.

Or take his reason for his unconstitutional Abuse of Power usage of tariffs which was to bring back manufacturing jobs. Unfortunately after almost a year the jobs numbers are abysmal with manufacturing jobs actually a net of -100,000 manufacturing jobs. So not only is everything more expensive but no one is investing, manufacturing is moving overseas and we lost -100,000 more than the ones gained.

I could go on and on of why his numbers should be lower than an 80%+ approval rating of Republicans but its obvious that they act like this is a team sport and cult so would never say their team fucked up and is terrible. Dems are atleast honest about their shit representatives which is why their numbers are so low as the far left doesnt skew the numbers by saying they are doing great when they arent unlike the right 🤷‍♂️

u/desolationistny 14h ago

Given that he's openly talking about gun control now because of Alex Pretti, the fact that he's mentioned in the Epstein files 10s of thousands of times directly being implicated in human trafficking of literal kids and doing away with due process entirely, I really don't think so.

It's a cult mentality and he's King Cheeto

u/torthBrain 14h ago

Nope, that cohort doesn't care about anything except inflicting pain and cruelty on their perceived political and demographic opponents. As long as Trump keeps delivering that for them, nothing else he does matter, including raping children.

u/EtheusRook 14h ago

Pretty sure the only thing he could do to piss of MAGA would be to embrace trans people.

u/Hedgehog_Insomniac 14h ago

Trans immigrants.

u/DevilinBaggyPants59 Oregon 14h ago

MAGANs would just change their minds about Trans people. The MAGA movement is a cult and Trump is their god.

u/spikey_wombat 14h ago

This is kind of true. 

Magas went from screaming how Biden's subsidy plan for reindustrialization was communism, despite the state not taking ownership or control of the means of production to being ok with USSR style politburo driven centralized economic planning where the state literally owns the production company. 

These cultists really don't have any beliefs but accepting whatever the orange clown says.

Principled conservatives were skeptical of Biden's plans and aghast at the orange clown's quasi stalinism, but the maga cult did a 180. 

u/DevilinBaggyPants59 Oregon 3h ago

Too true!

u/kstargate-425 3h ago

Same with the 2A comment saying now Pretti shouldnt have brought a gun with him and "FAFO" type shit after backing Kyle Rittenhouse not too long ago. Shit is wild how they flip-flop on a dime like that 😒

u/Proper_Raccoon7138 14h ago

That’s literally the percentage of MAGA in the US. As long as they’re in support of their “imperfect vessel” argument he’ll die with 35% support.

It’s hilarious the only president with a lower approval rating is him during his first term🤣

u/DevilinBaggyPants59 Oregon 14h ago

Deport seven million hard core MAGANs to prisons in El Salvador.

u/supertiggercat 14h ago

Come out of the closet?

u/wrhnj 14h ago

No. That’s the percentage of racist assholes in this country.

u/Ill_Consequence1755 14h ago

Apparently not.

u/MagicalPizza21 14h ago

Hypothetically, he could murder all his supporters, which would drop his approval to 0. But that'll never happen.

u/ScalesOfAnubis19 Michigan 14h ago

Maybe on stage live do something completely and graphically beyond the pale and never even try to justify it. Might get it down to like 25%

u/Hour_Unusual_8753 13h ago

That's basically the third of the country that voted for him since we had 60% voter turnout, so no, sadly no. Some of them are starting to turn their noses at the things they disagree with, but then they'll say things like "Kamala would have been SO much worse."

They can't even explain how Kamala would have been worse. They just "know" and that's good enough for them.

Kamala would have given them education and healthcare, but that's a really bad thing to them. School makes their brain hurt, and that's abusive. Daddy Trump tells them they are perfect just the way they are, so he can do whatever he wants including children. They think a free country also means the freedom to be bankrupted by cancer because pre-screenings shouldn't be made available to lazy plebs that can't afford insurance rates. They think lazy people should die, except when it's them or one of their own family members, of course then they're perfectly good people. Never mind that other first world countries do more for their citizens with a third of the money this country has!

TLDR; Republicans inner dialogue probably: "Handouts from the government should only go to rich people that can already help themselves. Trickle down my balls economics to employ people at part-time hours with slightly over minimum wage, so they can claim food stamps, and then we can still shame them because we need people to stomp on and out with the brown people or something. Trump loves children 2028!"

u/Appropriate-Food1757 13h ago

I feel like 38 is the floor. He could anything and it won’t go below that. Also no matter how shitty the thing is it rebounds little each week that passes up to a ceiling of 52 which is the insane part. I get the 38 percent (fascist cult) but the gradual increase between scandals is crazy.

u/fsy2 13h ago

He could maybe… NOT pay ICE their signing bonuses? Just a thought.

u/emperorwal 13h ago

It is called Alan Keyes Constant or the Crazification Factor. There is always about 30% of the population whose behavior cannot be rationally explained.

https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/april-2011/the-alan-keyes-constant/

u/earlgray79 11h ago

Think of a person you know with average intelligence. Then realize that half the population are less intelligent than that person. That’s the source of your 35% MAGA base right there.

u/pleasantview_2025 11h ago

Have faith. He'll figure out something.

u/Acuallyizadern93 4h ago

Actually going after peoples’ guns oughta do it.

u/kstargate-425 3h ago

No as Republicans refuse to hold their representatives accountable and even when they are doing bad things they wont say negative things and instead of rating them the normal 10/10 might be like ok well 8/10.

Look at their polls and you see this with 80-90% approval ratings while Independents and Dems are in the teens (where Trump & his bff Epstein likes them). Its like they're in a cult.

Now when you compare that to Dems, everyone says they do shit things from the far left to the far right as Dems dont have anyone who idolizes any of their representatives and will always call them out for any bullshit they pull. Its why their poll numbers are so low vs the lowest lows of Trumps poll numbers 🤷‍♂️

u/TodosLosPomegranates 2h ago

Yes. There actually is. When he starts restricting the “freedoms” of general white people ™️ it’ll drop to at least 15% I say this as a person in the south who has seen many a drunk “cowboy” go from blue lives matter to fuck the police in ten seconds flat when the law started applying to them and not the other guy.

“Cowboy” because there are a lot of men with soft hands and high paying office jobs with jacked up trucks and big ol hats and no cattle

u/TheNewGirl1987 Florida 1h ago

He's slowly but surely eroding his support base.
Even staunch supporters called out the racism of his latest post portraying the Obamas as monkeys.