U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Pulitzer-winning conservative columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan has been critical of President Donald Trump, describing him in her latest Wall Street Journal column as a rocket "going down" or "sideways."
Writing Friday, Noonan noticed the shocking new AP-NORC poll showing that Trump's approval on the economy and immigration has “fallen substantially” with just 31% of Americans approving his handling of the economy. It's a nine-point drop since March. His Immigration approval has fallen 11 points, to 38%.
Given the recent off-year losses in 2025, the midterm elections don't appear to be as strong for Republican candidates as they would hope.
"In fairness, 11 months as president is long enough to get on everyone’s nerves—to disappoint your fans and infuriate your foes," Noonan said as a caveat. "But he’s in a fix, surrounded by mood shifts, challenges and bad signs."
While Trump was able to control his GOP base in the past, he's faltering this year. Even one of his closest allies, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has abandoned him. And more Republicans were unwilling to genuflect to Trump following newer Epstein revelations.
Trump's biggest problem, Noonan wrote, is "Once someone makes a successful jailbreak, all the other prisoners know a jailbreak is possible. This changes the conversation in the prison yard. Guards are eyed differently, the warden’s mystique is diminished."
Such is the case of Trump as he enters his second year in office.
Meanwhile, Trump's followers in the states are at each other's throats.
"Outside Washington Mr. Trump’s base is fighting with itself. America First is saying 'I’m not MAGA.' Conspiracists all over: “Israel killed Charlie.” The assassination of Charlie Kirk looks increasingly like an epochal event. Did he understand how much he was holding together the Trumpian right? Without the force of his mediating presence they are cracking up," wrote Noonan.
"People on the ground feel tremors presidents can’t feel," she wrote.
She explained that there are those around Trump who believe he can "reset" everything with a really good speech at the State of the Union Address. Noonan is dubious.
"Maybe," she closed. "Those addresses don’t have the power they once had but still retain some. He might focus on things people are really thinking about—AI, inflation and how Americans in their 30s and 40s can get it together to buy a house and have a baby and keep this whole lumbering thing called America going."
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