Trump’s MAGA Base Splits Dramatically, New Poll Shows

The number of President Donald Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters is dwindling, according to a recent poll.

Only 18 percent of Americans strongly approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 34 percent at the start of his second term, according to an Economist/YouGov poll published Tuesday.

The polls found that just 37 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat approved of Trump’s job handling, while a whopping 59 percent disapproved, matching Trump’s disapproval rating from the beginning of March, which was his highest ever during his second term. Trump’s net approval rating was -22 points, just above the previous low of -23 points at the end of March.

It’s not all that surprising that Trump is falling out of favor as his so-called “Golden Age” falls apart at the seams.

The president’s handling of the economy has left Americans with a historically poor view of the economy. A Gallup poll published Tuesday found that 55 percent of Americans said their finances were getting worse, up 53 percent from the year before and 47 percent from the year before that. While Americans are worried about paying their bills, Trump’s most urgent desire is to construct a gaudy ballroom adjacent to the White House—now using taxpayer dollars.

Gallup found that Americans are also the most concerned about energy prices that they’ve been since 2008, as Trump’s reckless war with Iran has brought global energy trade to a screeching halt. Trump’s extended military campaign in Iran has also proven to be a sticking point for Americans, increasingly so as it nears the 60-day mark.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, President Trump posted a wild threat to Iran on his Truth Social page.

“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon! President DJT,” the post read, accompanied by a picture of Trump wearing a dark suit and tie, holding a military rifle and standing in front of several explosions on a hill with the text “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!🇺🇲” at the top.

What this means for negotiations or the ceasefire is anyone’s guess, but U.S. intelligence agencies are exploring how Iran would react if the president declared unilateral victory in the two-month war, Reuters reports. Senior administration officials have reportedly asked for the assessment, trying to figure out if it could help the president and his fellow Republicans in the midterms.

Polls indicate that the war is highly unpopular and could contribute to heavy losses in Congress for the GOP. No decision has been made on the “unilateral victory,” according to Reuters, but intelligence reports indicate Iran would consider it a win with no guarantee that it would help Trump and the GOP politically.

Is Trump attempting to look tough with this post, hoping to scare Iran into a deal that makes him look good, or is it a warning that he plans to escalate the conflict? In either case, Trump has backed himself into a corner with no good solutions.

Publicly, Donald Trump has promised a quick and resolute end to the war with Iran—but talk of the conflict is entirely different inside his inner circle.

The president has told his aides to prepare for an “extended” blockade of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as negotiations with Tehran drag on, according to U.S. officials that spoke with The Wall Street Journal Tuesday.

That language has permeated recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, reported the Journal. Officials said that Trump assessed his other options—which include reinstigating violence or walking away from the conflict altogether—and decided that continuing to squeeze the country’s economy was the best choice.

His decision has been reflected in his recent social media posts, emphasizing the White House’s intent to prolong the war unless Iran signs away its nuclear program.

“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Wednesday morning, sharing an AI-generated image of himself wearing a tuxedo and sunglasses with a semiautomatic gun in his hands as a landscape, presumed to be Iran, explodes in the background.

In another post attacking German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump claimed that he was “doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago.”

Trump reportedly intends to amp up pressure on Iran until its leadership caves to his key demand: ending its nuclear capabilities. But the reality of Iran’s nuclear progress is still murky.

Prior to the war—which never obtained congressional approval—Trump ordered strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, hitting Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan on June 22. At the time, the Trump administration claimed that the one-off air raid had set Iran’s program back by “years.”

Joe Kent, then director of the National Counterterrorism Center, sparked a maelstrom in Washington when he resigned over the issue last month. Kent argued in his resignation letter that he could not “in good conscience” support the war in Iran. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he wrote at the time.

In the eight weeks since the war began, the U.S. and Israel have killed thousands of Iranian civilians and obliterated Iranian civilian infrastructure. Thirteen U.S. soldiers have also died in the process.

Meanwhile, the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a global energy crisis, choking off a critical tradeway for the Middle Eastern oil trade. In the U.S., lagging oil and gas deliveries have caused transportation costs to surge, affecting virtually every commodity on the market. At the time of publication, the average cost for a gallon of gas was above $4.22, according to a AAA analysis. In some areas of California, such as San Francisco, Napa, and San Jose, gas was well above $6 per gallon.

Nobody is buying the Department of Justice’s latest attempt to get revenge on former FBI Director James Comey—not even the president’s conservative allies in the media.

In a scathing response published Tuesday in the National Review, Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy tore apart the Trump administration’s second “bogus” indictment of Comey, calling it“even more absurd than the previous indictment.”

Comey’s offense? He posted a picture of seashells arranged on the beach in North Carolina that read “8647.” He claimed he’d come across the shells, already arranged, while taking a walk and assumed it was a political message. Some accused the former FBI director of calling to “86,” or kill, the forty-seventh president, Donald Trump.

McCarthy wrote: “After uproar generated by the administration, Comey took down the post and publicly asserted that he opposes violence and meant no such suggestion. He also voluntarily submitted to interviews with the Secret Service—which proceeded to drop what should never have been a criminal investigation. There was not a threat of violence against the president, much less an unambiguous call for his assassination. Nor would it be remotely possible, on the known evidence, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Comey intended violence.

“This farce, then, is nothing more than a continuation of Trump’s lawfare campaign against a political enemy. It is inconceivable that Comey could be convicted of a crime in these circumstances, but the president’s minions are putting him through the anxiety, expense, and stigma of the judicial process,” McCarthy added.

It seems that “farce” may be as good a label as any for the DOJ’s latest attempt to nab Comey for, well, anything at all, it seems. The charges against Comey that were approved by a grand jury include making a threat against the president and transmitting it in interstate commerce, according to court documents.

A former Department of Justice official told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that Comey’s latest indictment “might be the worst case DOJ has filed in my lifetime.”

On Tuesday, King Charles III delivered a speech to Congress full of the stuff President Trump opposes. 

During his remarks, Charles mentioned that the Magna Carta—the foundational legal document signed by England’s King John in 1215—was cited multiple times in U.S. law, noting that it brought about limits on executive power.  

“The U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances,” Charles said, getting an immediate standing ovation from Democrats in the audience, but delayed applause from Republicans. 

Charles could very well have been referring to Trump, who has tried to push the limits of his authority as president and ignored Congress with the aid of conservative justices on the high court. 

When Charles mentioned Christianity, he also connected it to interfaith solidarity, a concept that is alien to the president. 

“The Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us not only personally—” the king started before being interrupted by applause. “Guides us not only personally, but together as members of our community,” he continued. “Having devoted a large part of my life to interfaith relationships and greater understanding, it is that faith in the triumph of light over darkness, which I have found confirmed countless times.

“Through it, I am inspired by the profound respect that develops as people of different faiths grow in their understanding of each other,” Charles said. 

Charles’s largest applause lines came from his mention of American and British participation in NATO, which Trump has threatened to leave over what he perceives as the organization’s lack of help with the Iran war, and how it is still needed for the defense of Ukraine. 

“In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time, and the United Nations Security Council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together, as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder, through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan, and moments that have defined our shared security,” Charles said. “Today, Mr. Speaker, that same unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine and her most courageous people.”

One wonders what Trump will think if he ends up seeing any part of the speech. At the White House Monday, Trump was happy to meet with the king. Will he change his mind and let loose a barrage of insults on Truth Social?