Trump’s approval craters past a milestone he desperately wanted to avoid

President Donald Trump and his allies almost reflexively blame any of his own administration's failures on his predecessor, Joe Biden, but according to a new report from MS NOW, that argument might be harder to make than ever as his approval rating craters past a milestone he was desperate to avoid.

"The president’s poll numbers are in the toilet. He is struggling to stay alert during key events. An overseas conflict is dampening enthusiasm among his base. Voters are furious about rising inflation," MS NOW's James Downie wrote in a Friday piece. "That was the narrative around former President Joe Biden when he exited the presidential race in mid-2024. And every sentence applies now to President Donald Trump, whose recent polling is as bad as Biden’s was when he threw in the towel — or in some cases worse. But the two presidents’ reactions — and that of their parties — could not be more different."

As Downie explained, a YouGov/Economist poll from this week found that Trump had a 36 percent approval rating compared to a 58 percent disapproval rating. Even worse, however, was the consistency with which his rating has been cratering over the last several weeks.

“In the past, bad numbers one week often have been offset by less-bad numbers in the next poll,” YouGov’s David Montgomery explained. “Now, the share of Americans who approve of Trump’s job handling has been under 40% for two straight months, and his net approval has been -22 for three straight weeks.”

This number is notable, as it means that Trump has fallen below the worst three-week average recorded by YouGov for Biden. His predecessor, whom Trump cannot stop blaming for all of the country's ills, bottomed out at a -21.8 average.

The story was the same coming from the New York Times, which recently gave Trump an average approval rating that was 20 points underwater, and polling guru Nate Silver, whose average had him 19.6 points under. Both numbers are below the averages each source recorded for Biden by the time he exited the 2024 presidential race, and the lowest they have recorded for Trump in his second term.

As their numbers begin to overlap, Downie argued further that the reasons for Trump and Biden's tanking approval ratings are remarkably similar, with each man dogged by worries about their age and crippling consumer inflation.

"Both learned in real time that the presidency is an even more difficult job when you’re entering your ninth decade on earth," Downie explained. "Biden mixed up names; Trump appears to nod off during meetings."

He added later: "And both, most simply, have been crushed by inflation. As I wrote last month, voter anger over the pandemic-era inflation spike persisted because even as the rate of inflation came down in 2023, prices were still (and are still) going up. It doomed Democrats in 2024, just as it doomed incumbents on the left and right around the world."