'Whiplash': Insider says Trump 'knows where things stand' — and it's killing him

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.S. President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One en route from Scotland, Britain, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 29, 2025. REUTERS Evelyn Hockstein

Atlantic staff writer Ashley Parker says Trump has been judging himself by other people’s approval for most of his adult career, and he is well aware of the numbers plaguing his second term today. It does not matter how hard he denies them on social media.

Sarah Longwell began her “Focus Group” podcast reporting tepid public approval of Trump sending the National Guard into D.C. and his “tariff whiplash” causing market chaos and higher consumer prices.

“[O]verall, for a lot of swing voters, Donald Trump's presidency is going — this is the clinical term: Meh. M-E-H,” said Longwell. “… Trump settled into an equilibrium of about eight to 10 points underwater, according to Nate Silver's polling average. He's doing … a lot worse on a bunch of economic measures, where he's about 12 to 24 points underwater.”

Parker, who has covered Trump for years, said Trump’s mind is trained to feel the pain of every bad review, and these reviews must be hurting.

“He definitely cares about polls,” said Parker, “and he's been conditioned to do this going back to ‘The Apprentice.’ … I did a story on him and ‘The Apprentice’ in 2015 when he was a candidate, 2016. And at that point, ratings were God to him.”

Parker then discussed Trump’s fondness for overblowing his numbers, as he frequently does when he cites unscientific web surveys from right-leaning news outlets.

“[On ‘The Apprentice], he would call these TV executives, saying ‘did you see the latest ratings?’ and — just like now — he would exaggerate them. So, he has an ability to dismiss the ratings, or in this case, the public polls he doesn't like and exaggerate them. But at the end of the day, he knows when he's exaggerating. He knows where things stand,” Parker said, adding that the feedback loop of media hits him even harder.

“He is deeply aware of what he sees … on social media [and] … cable news, or what comes across his desk on a podcast or someone shows him a YouTube clip,” Parker said. “He is aware when a head of a bank goes on Fox News or ‘Morning Joe’ and says these tariffs are going to tank the economy. He's aware of all of that.”

See the “Focus Group” below or at this link.

The Focus Group Podcast with Sarah Longwellwww.youtube.com

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