Trump address alleged Reflecting Pool vandalism, Pirro
President Donald Trump says he’s not decided on keeping U.S. attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro after she dropped the Reflecting Pool vandalism case.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the Republican base is angry at the party’s leadership in Congress, not him, as he expressed concern about whether his core voters will turn out in the November midterm elections without him on the ballot.
“At lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you,” Trump said in an interview with Punchbowl News. “They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.”
Trump made the remarks as he defended his popularity by pointing to his 2024 elections wins in several states even as polling shows his approval rating remains below 40% nationally.
“I have records in many of the states,” Trump said. “The question is … if I don’t run, will those people go out and vote? And that’s the one thing I can’t tell you. I’m going to ask them to.”
Democrats have built a lead over Republicans in the generic ballot before the midterm elections, when Republicans are working to maintain control of the House and Senate.
A national Economist/YouGov poll released Aug. 4 found 41% of Americans said they would vote for a Democratic candidate for Congress if the election were held today, compared to 33% who said they would vote for a Republican candidate.
Yet the same poll found Trump’s popularity is also wavering, with just 36% of Americans approving of his job performance as president and 60% disapproving.
The polling struggles for Trump and Republicans come as the majority of Americans increasingly disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy and the U.S. war in Iran, which has caused energy prices to rise.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found voters trust Democrats over Republicans to handle the economy by a 37%-36% margin, marking the first time in nearly a decade that Americans in the poll picked Democrats as better stewards of the economy.
Odds are strong that Democrats will take over the House and are increasingly bullish about their chances to take control of the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 advance. Historically, the sitting president’s party struggles in midterm elections.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.