Trump Is Finally Losing Ground Among Republicans
Focus groups show they’re mad about Iran. They’re mad about grocery prices. And they’re starting to wonder what on earth the president is doing.
AS A MATTER OF ROUTINE IN FOCUS GROUPS, I ask voters to grade Donald Trump’s performance as president.
Often the most interesting grades come from Republicans. Those who give him an A or a B are probably among the roughly one-third of voters who will be with Trump even if he shoots someone on Fifth Avenue. If they give him a C or lower, that’s an indication they might be disappointed enough in Trump’s performance to sit out the midterms. A participant who gives him an angry F might even consider voting for a Democrat or independent, if the circumstances are right.
Usually, we have to recruit voters into our focus groups who specifically disapprove of Trump to get at the C-and-below graders. (Trump lovers who are mad about the Iran war and the state of the economy but happy with mass deportations and attacks on transgender people will usually toss Trump a B-.) Recently, though, groups of straight-up Republicans, many of whom voted for Trump three times in a row, are feeling deflated and disappointed.
Across several Republican focus groups this summer, it’s clear that the intraparty sentiment toward Donald Trump isn’t what it used to be. I’ve heard more participants than usual grade Trump at a C or a D.1
Throughout his first term, I’d consistently hear some version of the following: I wish he’d tweet a little bit less, but he’s the GREATEST PRESIDENT IN MY LIFETIME. PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT. My 401(k) is crushing.
In 2026, lots of people still perfunctorily express that they wish he’d just behave himself. But compared to Trump’s first term—or to what Republicans said during Joe Biden’s presidency—what I’m hearing now is
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