Trump 'starting to unravel' — and only making voters more furious

President Donald Trump's language promoting his strong economy is only making things worse, according to one pollster tracking angry Trump voters as well as E.J. Dionne and Tim Carney, a columnist for the conservative Washington Examiner.

Speaking to the New York Times, Carney said that frequently Democrats look at those in red states like coal miners and tell them that they may kill their job but they're going to support them after the fact. Carney said that the strategy has never worked for Democrats, but now Trump is trying to use the same idea.

"I think in Washington it's easy to miss how unsatisfying that is," said Carney. "Oh, we're going to outlaw your job working in a coal mine, but we're going to give you more government benefits. That's never worked for the Democrats. But that's exactly what Trump is trying today. Oh, we're going to mess up your ability to sell your crops but we'll make it up for you with big checks. Yes, you can get people to line up behind you on stage and support that, but that's ultimately unsatisfying. So, the irony is that Trump is what I've often said seen as Democratic politics it's, government is going to get in your way and then try to make it up to you with a check."

Melissa Toufanian, managing director at the progressive firm Navigator Research, spoke with Greg Sargent for the "Daily Blast" podcast at The New Republic Tuesday, talking about interesting polling that shows just how angry Trump voters are after casting a ballot in support of him in 2024.

The polling supports what others have seen: groups in the Trump coalition are abandoning him in 2026. However, Toufanian pointed out that it isn't merely a loss of support. People are furious.

She said that they recently polled in Alaska, Ohio, Iowa and Texas "and in across all four states — which Trump won by double digits in 2024 — he actually has a net approval of -14. He's underwater in each of those states. And looking at Iowa, in particular, he's most underwater. He's underwater by 17 points. So, in states that helped him get back to the White House, people are now deeply pessimistic about how he's handling the economy, his job overall as president and especially the war with Iran."

Sargent highlighted just how red those states are, calling the idea that Senate seats there could flip "really crazy."

Toufanian explained that these states have been "down on Democrats" for decades and have consistently voted to support Republicans, but they still don't entirely trust Democrats either.

She also looked specifically at the "intensity" of the anger. Looking at Iowa as an example, she said that 60 percent disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy. However, the kicker is that 50 percent "strongly disapprove."

"So, it's not just people feeling a little frustrated or a little pessimistic; there's this intense disapproval of how Trump is handling the presidency and how he's handling the economy."

Meanwhile, Trump continues to promote polling numbers that claim the opposite and show continued support among GOP voters or the MAGA crowd.

"He's really starting to unravel, I think," Sargent said.