Republican polling expert Kristen Soltis Anderson has shared a harsh message for Donald Trump ahead of the midterms.
Appearing on State of the Union Sunday, Anderson was asked whether Trump’s approval numbers contradicted his claim that voters were “not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans.”
For Anderson, the data didn’t track. “Those numbers indicate quite a bit of anger,” she said, before focusing on Trump’s very low economy numbers.
“Thirty percent approval on the economy is extraordinarily poor,” she said. “And it’s very poor for Donald Trump.”
“Because even during his first term, there were a handful of voters who said, ‘Look, I don’t know if I like this guy. I don’t like the tweets, but he’s a business guy. He’s good at the economy.’”
Anderson warned: “And he has lost that as a brand attribute with any of those swing voters who may have come around and said, ‘Look, I’m not into Biden, I’m not into Kamala Harris. Let me give Trump another chance because at least he’ll fix this cost of living stuff.’”
The GOP strategy writer argued that by washing his hands of all responsibility for his own administration, Trump was alienating his voting base.
“He’s had two years. And if his message was, ‘We get it, we haven’t made enough progress, but let’s keep the faith. We’re going to keep trying to work,’ I don’t know that that would stave off really bad losses in the midterms, but it would be much better than this, like, ‘La la la. Everything’s fine. And if it’s not fine, someone else did it.’ That’s a terrible message.”
Contrary to Anderson’s judgements, Trump seemed wholly convinced of his own sainthood on Friday, when he told Punchbowl news that no one was angry with him or his actions as president.
Asked about the possibility of being impeached yet again if Democrats win the House, Trump confidently assured: “Well, a lot of people are saying I’m one of the greatest presidents ever.”
When the interviewer suggested this wasn’t necessarily true, Trump doubled down: “Yeah, but they know—they see the results.”
Unfortunately for Trump, the “results” may not be as convincing as he thinks.
A CNN poll conducted in late July showed his approval ratings at an all-around low, with 30 percent approval for the economy, and 28 percent for his dealings with Iran.
The cost of living crisis proved to be another bone of contention, with a 25 percent approval for his handling of inflation, and a dismal 21 percent for gas prices.
