Warning lights are flashing for Donald Trump as cracks widen inside his political base, with once-reliable supporters showing signs of slipping away.
Latino voters, who shifted sharply toward Republicans by 22 points in 202, are now showing signs of drifting away from the president ahead of the November midterm elections, where the Republicans hope to retain control of the House and Senate.
According to a May Pew Research Center poll, Trump’s approval rating among Latino voters who supported him has dropped to 66 percent, a steep decline from 93 percent at the start of his second term.
Other new polling has painted a difficult picture for Trump, with approval ratings slipping to some of their weakest levels on record.
According to polling averages from Nate Silver, Trump’s disapproval rating has hit 58.6 percent—surpassing his own first-term peak and President Joe Biden’s high after his disastrous debate with Trump in July 2024. It marks the highest disapproval rating for any president since President George W. Bush left office.
At the same time, polls have shown some of the key voters who fueled his victory in 2024 turning against him, including independent voters and non-college-educated white voters.
Polling also indicates that Latino voters are increasingly shifting toward the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections, suggesting a reversal of recent Republican gains within the bloc.
An Echelon Insights survey conducted between May 14 and 18 shows Latino voters leaning Democratic by 30 points, a sharp shift from +13 in February.
But a TelevisaUnivision/Harris poll released Wednesday found that 52 percent of Latino respondents say they are either undecided or could still change their minds ahead of the midterm elections.
Still, the numbers are a red flag for the Republicans ahead of November’s elections.
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson has described Latino voters as the “most important voting bloc” for House Republicans in their efforts to preserve a majority in Congress.
Te TelevisaUnivision/Harris poll shows that 73 percent of Latino voters say they are merely “surviving” financially.
That comes as polls have shown Americans feel pretty gloomy about the economy amid Trump’s war in Iran, which has seen energy prices spike.
According to AAA, the national average for regular gasoline has risen above $4.50 a gallon, with prices topping $5 in seven states. Inflation also climbed to 3.8 percent in April—the highest in nearly three years.
As a result, polling has shown growing economic unease. A New York Times/Siena survey found just 28 percent approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living.
A CNN/SSRS poll also put his economic net approval at -40, his worst on record.
But Daniel Alegre, CEO of TelevisaUnivision, said there is still hope for Trump if he addresses the economic concerns of Latino voters.
“This is a wide-open competition, and the campaigns that engage Hispanic voters directly, speak to their economic reality, and show they understand their lives will win this vote—and they will win these elections,” Alegre said.
White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told the Daily Beast: “President Trump was honored to receive a record level of support from Hispanic Americans that helped fuel his landslide 2024 election victory, and he’s spent every day since his inauguration working to make life better for them, and all Americans.
“From passing the largest middle-class tax cuts in American history, including No Tax on Tips, Overtime, and Social Security, to defeating Biden’s inflation crisis, hardworking Hispanic Americans are beginning to have some breathing room after four years of economic pain under the Democrats.”
