'Devastating reality check': Why Trump’s poll numbers may not be as damning as they look

Three months into his second term, President Donald Trump is being inundated with weak poll numbers.

Polls released in late April show Trump's approval at 42 percent (NY Times/Siena College and ABC News/Washington Post) or 43 percent (NPR/PBS/Marist and CNN). And a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only 37 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy.

But Salon's Chauncey DeVega, in an article published on April 29, offers some reasons why Trump's poll numbers may not be as damning as they appear.

READ MORE: America is first in the global race to the bottom — thanks to Trump

"President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office have been some of the most chaotic and destructive in American history," DeVega explains. "Given this fact, the 'conventional wisdom' suggests that Trump's presidency should be in grave trouble at this early point in his second term. But the following caveat must always apply when assessing Donald Trump and his political fortunes: He has repeatedly broken the limitations, expectations, and force of the 'conventional wisdom.' Trump would not have otherwise been elected twice."

Many economists are attacking Trump's steep new tariffs as a recipe for inflation, a recession, a weakening of the U.S. dollar or empty shelves at major retail chains. And some of Trump's critics fear the return of stagflation, a combination of high unemployment, inflation and low growth that led to President Jimmy Carter's landslide loss in 1980 and also haunted President Ronald Reagan during his first few years in the White House.

But DeVega argues that: (1) Many Trump voters still think that short-term pain from Trump's tariffs will lead to long-term gain, (2) Democrats aren't popular, and (3) low-information voters are more likely to be "Trumpy."

DeVega notes that according to Democratic pollster David Shor, "The lower your political engagement, education level or socioeconomic status, the less engaged you are in politics, the more Trumpy you are."

READ MORE: Hitler's first 100 days — and Trump's

DeVega warns, "Trump's weakness on the economy has not translated into political dividends for the Democrats…. Here is a devastating reality check for the Democratic Party in the Age of Trump: What if the real story of this era and the country's democracy crisis is not so much that the American people fell in love with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, but that they dislike the Democrats even more than him? The Democrats need to engage in some real introspection, look in the metaphorical mirror and then ask themselves the hard question, 'Why don't they love me anymore?"

The Salon journalist continues, "The Democrats must confront these ugly truths and uncomfortable realities if they are to have any real chance of defeating Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans in the midterms, taking back the presidency — and by doing so, saving the country's democracy. And of course, this scenario makes the huge assumption that America will still have reasonably 'free and fair' elections in 2026 and then 2028."

READ MORE: Nastiness 'doesn't travel well': Trump ripped after shock election results in Canada

Chauncey DeVega's full article for Salon is available at this link.