'The numbers are rotten': Columnist busts Trump boast on polls

Columnist Jenifer Rubin says a dive into President Donald Trump’s poll numbers show an ugliness that many Americans don’t even acknowledge.

“The numbers on Trump … when you drill down, are rotten,” said Rubin. “… Voters oppose the big ugly reconciliation bill by a roughly 2:1 margin. According to a recent KFF poll, ‘Nearly two-thirds of the public hold an unfavorable opinion of the tax and budget bill being discussed by Congress, while one-third hold a favorable view.’”

Additionally, nearly 75 percent of Independents disapprove, and the more they learn, the less they like. Public support for the legislation drops 14 percentage points to 21 percent after hearing that the legislation decreases funding for local hospitals. Seventy-four percent of respondents turn on the bill after learning it increases the number of people without health insurance. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll shows a similar 2:1 margin against the bill, Rubin reports.

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Even on the issue of immigration, where the president polls high, Trump now takes a hit. A recent Pew survey uncovered massive dislike for suspending asylum applications, ending Temporary Protected Status and increasing ICE raids at workplaces, with 60 percent of more disapproval in all three cases.

But the bad numbers mean nothing to the uninformed — and that includes a lot Americans, Rubin warns.

“Democrats taking solace in polls should be aware that a great number of voters, particularly on the reconciliation bill, have no opinion,” Rubin writes, which is comparable to excuses for the 2024 elections results. "They don’t follow the news. Or it’s hard to tell who is telling the truth.”

Luckily for Trump’s critics the “…only thing MAGA Republicans truly believe in, aside from White Christian nationalism, is giving big tax cuts to their big donors,” said Rubin, so it falls to Democrats to “tell the story of … harm and debunk the preposterous claim that Republicans merely cut fraud, waste, and abuse.”

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“To paraphrase a statement attributed to Stalin, ‘One person who loses healthcare coverage is a tragedy; 16 million (who will lose coverage if this bill goes through) is a statistic,’” writes Rubin. “[V]oters need to know who caused avoidable misery. Democrats must not assume voters will know this is all MAGA’s doing."

And every Republican who approves Trump’s budget needs to be faced with the victims, Rubin says. “‘If you lost Medicaid, it’s Rep. Mike Lawler’s fault. … If your child lost school lunches, Sen. Joni Ernst did it,’” she suggests.

Cruelty still is not popular, and Rubin says Democrats must focus on "MAGA’s victims" and tie them to the lawmakers responsible for their ordeal. It’s the only way to break “MAGA’s grip on power in 2026.”

Read Rubin’s full column at The Contrarian.