60% Disapprove of Trump

[applegrove]

60% Disapprove of Trump

February 22, 2026 at 4:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard 140 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2026/02/22/60-disapprove-of-trump/

“As President Donald Trump prepares to address the nation Tuesday evening, Americans remain generally sour about his performance, with majorities disapproving of his handling of priority initiatives while saying he has overreached the authority of his office,” according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.

“The president’s approval rating stands at 39 percent positive and 60 percent negative, including 47 percent who say they strongly disapprove. The last time Trump’s disapproval touched 60 percent was shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”

[shelshaw]

1. 39% approval is bullshit

[PatSeg]

2. It is very scary

that so many people still approve of him.

[chicoescuela]

4. Those with a of zeros in their net worth on one side and those with an IQ nearing zero

on the other side. That’s the 39%.

[PatSeg]

23. Ha, ha!

Though it still seems like an awfully high number - that's 4 out of every 10 people, more than I'd have expected.

[chicoescuela]

29. Sad, very sad. They're an embarrassment to their families.

[PatSeg]

33. And we have to share the planet with them

[bdamomma]

7. It

is rather sickening. Those who are still supporting will get bit by this snake. He will throw them and us under the fascist bus. We cannot let this happen.

[PatSeg]

24. Yeah, Trump doesn't need them anymore

and even if he does, he doesn't really care. He is in a totally reckless mode.

[Tree Lady]

8. We can thank Fox, rightwing radio

Podcasts, online groups, Charlie Kirk in the colleges, and all the fake untrue shit posted online about us.

And like Colbert said long ago on his old show pretending to be on the right: Truthiness

Definition: Colbert defined truthiness as a "truth" that comes from the gut, not from books or facts. It means believing something feels true, even if it is not supported by evidence.

[PatSeg]

25. Yes, with so many high profile enablers

it is apparently easy to delude 39% of the people.

Colbert is a national treasure.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. There Is, However, Some Value In These Numbers

As his numbers have hovered in the high 30s (worse in other polls), many of these had approve/disapprove sums of 92-94%, meaning 6 to 8% had no opinion.
This poll shows a sum of 99%, so the no opinion folks are evaporating.
The felon's behavior is becoming increasingly polarizing such that even those not normally laying attention are doing so.
I'm suspicious of the 39%, like you. It seems a bit high given other contemporary polls.
But, as I believe the floor is s hard 30%, having 6 out of every other 7 people disapproving is appropriately bad news for the fascist mob.

[Skittles]

26. even if they don't

a big percentage is never going to admit they were fooled

[CaptainTruth]

31. I'm convinced a lot of people truly hate America & want to destroy it.

Their actions toward the country at large are purely destructive.

Of course, I think many have been brainwashed by right-wing propaganda to hate their own country.

[BaronChocula]

34. Polls are (largely) bullshit

We can go back to how "Obamacare" polled versus how the "Affordable Care Act" polled. Same thing, different names, different results.
https://www.aei.org/articles/obamacare-vs-affordable-care-act/

But you don't need an advanced degree to see that trump is an inhumane ball of sickness so he makes high negatives likely for himself. On the other hand, his positives are most likely not all from honest replies. Many of us have seen the social media videos of cult members crying out to their leader how they still support him, but his policies are killing them. There's no way to factor that into a poll.

There may be those who can't yet admit to themselves that they made a mistake and give a thumbs up and you can't factor that into a poll.

And then there are the vastly "disengaged" who are simply unaware which you can't factor into a poll.

Poll results should be taken with a big box of Morton's. They're a glimpse, but they certainly ain't gospel.

[lostincalifornia]

3. That 40% aprrove is a disgrace, and those same 40% also had no problem with what he did on January 6 is a sick and

demented mentality of those 40%.

When you have that many people who have no problem with this piece of trash in the WH, I am not sure our democracy can survive that.

[Demixs]

10. Same with the undecided

They’re still pondering whether Trump is a psychopath. After all this.

[ToxMarz]

17. Fortunately it looks like we are down to only 1% undecided

Unfortunately they are probably lying MAGAts or both sides do it-ers

[ShazzieB]

18. I wonder how many of those are MAGA voters who still can't bring themselves to admit they were wrong.

But every poll always has some undecideds, and 1% is a very small number. It's the 39% who still approve that worry me.

[ToxMarz]

30. What's really frightening

I am related to some of them!

[ShazzieB]

40. Oh dear.

Please accept my heartfelt condolences!

I'm still related to at least one myself, but I'm not in regular contact with them, so I am able to pretend they don't exist for the most part. Forget Trump Derangement Syndrome - Trump Estrangement Syndrome has taken a terrible toll on many American families during these last 10 years.

[lostincalifornia]

35. You are right.

[NEOH]

5. It's Been Stuck There for Months! nt

[oasis]

9. 39% MAGA shit-for-brains.

Wasaaaay too many

[everyonematters]

11. Some other things in this same poll that should be a concern.

Registered voters:
Who do you trust more to handle the country's main problems?
Trump 37%
Dems in congress 33%
neither 27%

Who do you trust more to handle the cost of living?
Trump 35%
Dems in congress 33%
neither 28%

Democrats need to put forward an economic agenda beyond just reversing Trump's policies. We need to earn the trust of the voters that we are going to make a positive difference in their lives.

[Scrivener7]

15. I wish people would take this seriously. It's a messaging issue, and solving it is very doable.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

20. This is a huge part of the problem: Republicans have gotten some weird undeserved credit...

...for being better on the economy than Democrats over the last 40 years despite the fact that their policies tend to wreck it over and over leaving Democrats to fix it.

Of course, the fixing it part almost always keeps Democrats from showing what they could really do if Republicans weren't such bad stewards of the economy, but that fact is quickly lost on Americans.

Part of it comes down to the fact that Republicans have been effective at convincing Americans that Democrats are going to raise their taxes--helped in part by Democrats expressing support for raising taxes. "Tax-and-spend" has been a pretty effective mantra for them. Of course, they spend and don't tax, but that message doesn't resonate. Americans love to get something for "nothing."

The rub is that a lasting sustainable economic agenda DOES depend on raising taxes on the very wealthy and corporations at the very least.

So how do you create a message that isn't lying and still achieves the goals of the Party?

The only message Americans seem to actually support are magical "you can have everything but pay for nothing" messages--the kind Republicans sell on a regular basis.

It is as if your task were to write popular science fiction books that must adhere to science fact.... Yeah, they probably aren't going to be really popular.

[Kid Berwyn]

12. Imagine what it would be with honest news media?

Bet it’d be around 99-percent disapproval.

[mountain grammy]

36. He wouldn't be president.

[Kid Berwyn]

37. Absolutely. Not once.

Missing from the coverage, but not DU 2016:

Exposing Trump's Decades of Deep Ties to Organized Crime

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10027855824

[mountain grammy]

39. I remember this. Pretty sure I have the whole article in my bookmarks.

I'm so glad you're still around Octafish!

[progressoid]

41. This.

It's all about messaging.

[andym]

13. ABC story on this poll: "Most Americans disapprove of Trump on issues; Americans don't trust Dems in Congress more"

https://abcnews.com/Politics/americans-disapprove-trump-issues-americans-dont-trust-dems/story?id=130346647

"Most Americans disapprove of Trump on issues; Americans don’t trust Dems in Congress more to handle problems: Poll"
By Emily Guskin
February 21, 2026, 9:03 PM

"Days ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress and a little more than two weeks before the first primary voters head to the polls, majorities of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling inflation, tariffs, relations with other countries, immigration and the economy, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted via Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel poll conducted shortly before the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s global tariffs.

And despite Trump's low ratings, Americans don't trust Democrats in Congress more to handle the country's biggest problems.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, About two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation (65%) while over 6 in 10 disapprove of how he is handling tariffs on imported goods (64%) and U.S. relations with other countries (62%). Nearly as many disapprove of how he is handling immigration (58%) and the economy (57%). The poll was conducted Feb. 12-17; the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs came out Feb. 20.

Trump’s highest approval rating is at best slightly negative: The immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, where 50% of Americans disapprove of how he is handling things and 47% approve. "
-------------
The poll is not all good news. Trump is heading south in popularity, but Congressional Democrats are not trusted more, most likely because the public sees they have done little to stop Trump. It's unclear how many understand the minority party has little power to do much in DC. Still this traditionally means that the minority party will be given control in the next election.

[mountain grammy]

38. Just when I was beginning to like ABC news

next time I hear "liberal media" I'll lose it!

I have to walk the dog now....

[Fiendish Thingy]

14. An above average outlier for sure

Most recent polls have his approval between 35-37%

[Escape]

16. 39% approval is the highest I've seen in more than 6 months

....so the crazier and more Fascist he becomes, the higher his rating goes.

[lastlib]

19. WHY is it so f*cking LOW??!?

Is more than a third of our population non-sentient beings??

[ShazzieB]

21. A little context from the article...

“The president’s approval rating stands at 39 percent positive and 60 percent negative, including 47 percent who say they strongly disapprove. The last time Trump’s disapproval touched 60 percent was shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”

It's encouraging to me that the last time it was this low was right after January 6. Let's hope it keeps going downhill, and that more MAGA wake up and smell the coffee. We have some midterms to win!

[NoMoreRepugs]

22. Confirmation of the incredible number of racist homophobic small thinkers

that walk amongst us every single day - be afraid, VERY afraid. Nothing, I mean nothing will ever change these ShitForBrains Deplorable meat sacks.

[LilElf70]

27. Only 60%?

It should be more like 95. It blows me away that 39% still think this loser is right for our country.

[CaptainTruth]

28. The ones who have changed their opinion of him baffle me.

It was 100% known who he was, what he was, & what he wanted to do BEFORE the election. They should have known exactly what they were voting for, if they had been paying attention.

[Soul_of_Wit]

32. Some thoughts on this poll

The cult of personality around Donald is a big factor in the too-high approval numbers. The true MAGA will cite lower prices for eggs and gasoline, neither of which have anything to do with Dear Leader's policies. If you ask what else has gone down in price, then you get crickets or deflection.

The key character trait of MAGA is a strong affinity for authoritarianism. Cruelty and bigotry are selling points within the cult. This explains the acceptance of the weaponization/militarization of federal law enforcement.

The distrust of Democrats in Congress goes well beyond demagoguery and propaganda. The blue team is seen as hyper-focused on both social issues and help for the poor. The middle class (where a bigger-than-reality proportion of Americans see themselves) wants help for their concerns. Democrats are seen as doing nothing to address affordability for things like housing, education and prescription drugs. Personally, I saw the cost of Eliquis--with a Medicare prescription drug plan, mind you--go up $100 for my first 90-day purchase in 2026. It is easy to see why Democratic plans to reduce prescription drug costs are perceived as either ineffective or (at best) a distant light at the end of the tunnel.

[Morbius]

42. A true story comes to mind.

My father passed away in 2006, I think it was. I remember asking him once, if he could admit that George W. Bush had been a horrible President. He said I was right, Bush was pretty bad. "But you know what?," he asked me, looking me straight in the eye. "It would only have been worse with a Democrat."

For him, the worst Republican was better than the best Democrat. At the time I was shocked; no longer. America is more partisan now than it was then, even though it was really partisan then. Today I tend to think the worst Democrat might be better than the best Republican, although John Fetterman gives me pause, and there are a couple of Republicans I respect even though I disagree with them. My point is that for a great part of the country, even though Trump is obviously awful, they automatically prefer him to any Democrat.

America is badly broken, and I doubt the ship of state will ever be seaworthy again. Trump didn't start the breaking of the nation; he seems to have about finished the job but the breakage started long ago.