Trump’s 'hole' looks permanent for 2026 — and the GOP is about to pay the price

U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event to honor Angel Families at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 23, 2026. REUTERS

After many consistent poll results over the course of months it does not look like President Donald Trump is crawling out of the hole of hate voters have put him in before the November midterms, which is too bad for Trump’s party.

“President Donald Trump’s approval rating is essentially where it was a month ago — and a month before that, and a month before that,” writes G. Elliot Morris, pointing out that Trump’s rating “is the second-worst reading we’ve recorded since we began tracking the question a year ago.”

You could call that stable, at least — if Trump’s net approval on prices and inflation hadn’t fallen to a new record low of -47. And it really doesn’t help that “inflation” happens to be the issue voters say they care about most.

“He cannot dig himself out of a hole with the average American if he continues to marginalize them on their core priorities,” said Morris. “The issue voters care most about — the one they say is the single most important problem facing the country today — is also the one where the president is most unpopular.”

Meanwhile, Democrats are trampling Republicans on the generic ballot with both registered voters and “all U.S. adults.”

But what makes things even sweeter for Dems is the fact that they lead on all but four issues — and none of those remaining four issues are passionate priorities, according to surveys. This includes immigration, deportations, border security and crime, all of which have fallen to the wayside with Americans as new worries over inflation and gas prices keep swamping household budgets.

Democrats have led the generic ballot in every poll conducted since May 2025, and their margin has only grown in recent months.

And woe unto House and Senate Republicans with a track record like that.

“Aside from approval, other indicators are also flashing red,” said Morris. “The country is very dissatisfied, with the vast majority saying major political and economic changes are needed. The president is underwater on almost every issue, and if you ask voters who they trust more to handle their personal most important issue, they say the opposition party by a growing 13-point margin. … When a president is this unpopular this close to a midterm, his party usually loses badly. Bush, at this same approval level in May 2006, saw his party lose 30 House seats and the majority later that year.”

“If our May numbers are anywhere close to where things stand in the fall, Republicans should be preparing for significant losses, up and down the ballot,” said Morris.

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