It’s been 100 days since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Trump celebrated that big number with a rally in Michigan on Tuesday night.
There’s another number that won’t bring him cheer, however, but does offer hope that we can survive the growing debacle of the Trump presidency.
The number is 39. Percent, that is.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents to a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll said they approve of how Trump is managing his job as president, which is down 6 percentage points from February.
At this point, Trump has the lowest approval of any president in the past 80 years, according to the poll.
Presidents often slip in popularity in the early days; however, you have to go back to 1945 to find the previous lowest approval rating for a president at or near 100 days in office.
The poll found “public pushback on many of his policies and extensive economic discontent, including broad fears of a recession,” ABC News reported. The poll was conducted online April 18-22, in a random national sample of 2,464 adults.
Trump may be unpopular among many, yet he keeps getting elected.
Another 100-day survey shows that while Americans are not surprised Trump unleashed an avalanche of radical policy initiatives, many do not agree with his fast-moving agenda.
“Americans are nearly twice as likely to say Trump has been mostly focusing on the wrong priorities as to say he has been focusing on the right ones,” reported The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
About 4 in 10 respondents describe Trump as a “terrible” president in his second term; 1 in 10 characterize his performance as “poor.” In comparison, about 3 in 10 use the word “great” or “good” in reference to Trump, while just under 2 in 10 say he has been “average.” The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21.
Trump’s Republican base remains solidly behind him, but he faces rabid opposition from Democratic voters and skepticism from independents, the poll found.
There’s a reason for that. Trump has shaken up the domestic and international fronts with massive tariffs, cutting tens of thousands of federal jobs, slashing numerous programs and federal staff members, and abolishing or eroding diversity, equity and civil rights initiatives.
He has launched attacks on universities, the courts and the legal system. As part of one of his signature causes — cracking down on illegal immigration — his administration has administered deportations without due process. Those moves have struck terror into immigrant communities and depressed local economies.
Daniel DePetris: The frenetic foreign policy of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days
Many of Trump’s targets are society’s most vulnerable.
On a local level, his initiatives could decimate institutions in Chicago and Illinois. Civic and community organizations are cutting back services and programming in the wake of the administration’s cuts and threats of rollbacks.
For example, the nonprofit Illinois Humanities recently learned it will lose $1 million in federal support. It’s a casualty of the Trump administration’s decision to cancel $175 million in grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, money earmarked for arts and cultural groups across the nation.
“The impact on Illinois — and the country — will be staggering,” Illinois Humanities Executive Director Gabrielle Lyon said in a statement. “Our grant that was terminated represents a third of our budget — roughly $2 million. This loss means we will be unable to provide free history and heritage programs, funding for rural museums and historical societies, and otherwise unavailable educational programs for youth and adults.”
Through the darkness, voters are beginning to see the light about Trump’s crusade to “Make America Great Again.”
Another poll, by The New York Times and Siena College, also registered unhappiness with Trump’s performance so far, with 54% disapproving.
Adam Schechter, 46, a tech specialist in a Washington suburb, told the Times that while he voted for Trump last year and supports much of his agenda, he was concerned about the “very messy” way that Trump is executing budget cuts.
“A chain saw, as you might say,” he said. “The way it’s all haphazardly handled has been not something I generally approve of.”
The fade in Trump’s support may only be getting going. Economists are warning that his punishing tariffs will boost prices of products and undermine availability. Trump brutalized President Joe Biden over nagging inflation in the 2024 campaign. Yet by summer, if the store shelves are bare and prices are burgeoning, consumers will surely cry foul.
The appeal of Trump’s mumbo-jumbo, smoke-and-mirrors antics is wearing off. Perhaps his lies and dissembling are catching up with him?
One apt comparison is exposing Trump’s nefarious agenda. Millions across the globe are bereft at the loss of Pope Francis. He was a world leader who walked and talked a life of humility, passion for justice and championing of the poor, the voiceless and basic human rights.
Then, there is Trump. More and more, Americans can see the difference.
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Wednesday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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