An audience member, U.S. President Donald Trump's supporter Nima Poursohi, reacts during the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas, U.S., March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole
President Donald Trump's popularity is in "freefall" with many voters as his scandals and controversies multiply, but according to a new report from The i Paper, a contingent of his "staunchest' MAGA followers remain devoted to him and the Republican Party.
Trump's war in Iran and his recent rhetoric towards Pope Leo XIV appear to have been a breaking point for many supporters who had still been backing him, with various conservative and MAGA figureheads speaking out against him in strong terms. While polls have shown notable declines in Trump's typically ironclad GOP support, some MAGA diehards still plan to support him for the time being, per a Tuesday report from The i Paper, even though some of them have been put off by certain scandals.
"Asked how she intends to vote in November’s crucial U.S. midterm elections, fruit farmer Barbara Kraght doesn’t skip a beat," the reporter read. “'Oh we’re huge Trump fans. We’re happy about the war [in Iran],' says the 72-year-old Christian, speaking from the fruit stand she runs in Ferndale, 100 miles north of Seattle in Washington state. 'We support a lot of his policies. We want the bad criminals out of here.'"
The report continued: "Kraght admits she and her husband, Randy, were horrified over recent raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on migrant workers, which led to a farm near theirs losing 25 workers. 'They do the jobs we can’t get white people to do, sorry to say,' she adds. 'My heart bleeds for them. They’re just trying to survive up here and send money back to Mexico to feed their families.'”
When asked why she would not consider shifting her vote from the GOP, the farmer decried "the woke system and the freebie programs" she associated with Democrats, and said, "It’s better than the other side. Let’s just put it that way."
“I’m still a supporter of Trump, because I believe in what he stands for. That’s what I stand for, and I think we need it in our country,” Cindy Tahl, a 65-year-old gift shop owner whose business has been harmed by Trump's tariffs, told The i Paper. “I love not having open borders. I, of course, want to see prices come down on oil and I think that will happen.”
The outlet noted that these anecdotal examples of MAGA support might be cold comfort for Trump, citing a recent University of Massachusetts Amherst poll that showed his approval rating at a new low for this second term, 33 percent. Another recent survey from PRRI found that GOP support for Trump was still at 81 percent, a dip from 85 percent. Other polls in recent weeks have shown a more steep decline in conservative support for Trump since his return to the White House.