U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 23, 2026. REUTERS
Blustery President Donald Trump puts on a good face of optimism leading into the midterms, but the Washington Post reports the president is secretly all too aware of the hammer coming down for him.
“Trump in recent weeks has become sober about the gravity of the political situation, listening intently as he is presented with often discouraging polling, according to four people with knowledge of his recent comments,” reports the Times. “… That shift has prompted him to take more action on the midterms — pledging to stump for candidates and opening his war chest in competitive races, for example — although it remains to be seen how effectively Republicans can gain ground over the next six weeks.”
“He definitely feels like some of his decisions have led to the dynamics where he’s unpopular and things aren’t looking great for the midterms,” said one person in Trump’s circle, speaking anonymously to the Times.
Trump outwardly dismisses unfavorable polls, reports the Times, instead “fastening his attention on surveys that present him in an artificially positive light. He often says that negative surveys are fake and not to be believed.”
For months, the Times reports Trump publicly “expressed a lack of concern about political conditions,” commenting about how the party in power typically loses the midterms regardless of other factors, and insisting that voters’ economic frustration wouldn’t affect his decision-making on the war.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing,” Trump said in May, when asked whether voters’ concerns would push him to accede to a deal to end the war he started with Iran. “We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, that’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me.”
“Publicly, Trump continues to insist that there’s no reason for voters to be disillusioned with him,” said the Times. He admitted at a recent rally that Americans are paying higher gas prices because of his unilateral war in Iran, but he also said the hit on voters’ bank accounts are justified.
Increasingly, however, Trump has come to terms with his team’s polling, which reflects the poor standing with voters facing him and Republicans in November, according to his advisers. They tell the Times they are “increasingly blunt” with him. And in recent weeks they claim he actually appears to be listening to them about the GOP’s harsh electoral reality.
And it didn’t always translate to a good mood for Trump, adds the Times, especially considering the president faces his lowest approval rating of his second term with his hugely unpopular war with Iran and the rising oil prices that come if it. Voters similarly have no patience for his various construction projects in Washington, “to cement his legacy,” according to the Times. And voter discontent is going nowhere as Trump fails to “meaningfully lower prices, which he pledged to do while he campaigned in 2024.”
“The blunt talk from his team coincided with Trump’s approval of spending plans from his aligned super PACs, disbursements that now total roughly $140 million. Republican candidates and operatives had grown concerned in recent months that Trump was sitting on his large reserve of campaign cash,” reports the Times.
