Donald Trump wants the midterm elections to be all about Donald Trump. Republicans think they have little choice but to go along.

Many of those Republicans ― or at least the political operatives working for them ― are fully aware they don’t really want the president to show up in their districts. Trump is deeply unpopular, with voter anger at his decision to launch a costly war in Iran and his failure to lower prices driving his approval rating down into the 30s in most public opinion surveys.

But downballot Republicans, who have seen their majorities in the House and Senate become deeply endangered, are not responding by breaking with Trump. They long ago decided on a midterm strategy of tying themselves to the president in hopes of turning out low-propensity conservative voters, and they are desperate for his political operation to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars he has hoarded so far.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    and it sounds like more people approve of him today.

    I don’t know where you’re hearing that, but it’s bullshit

    • aceshigh@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      It’s an observation. 30% of the population voted for him - I assume they voted for him because they approved of him. The article says that his approval rating now is in the 30’s% range. Which is a bit higher than the percentage of people who voted for him. Therefore my conclusion is that overall he’s doing pretty good. More people approve of him now than they did 2 years ago.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        The biggest flaw (out of many) is assuming everyone that voted for him, still support him.

        But specifically you seem to think his polling in a single district Kamala won is the same as the whole country…

        Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a moderate Republican who is retiring rather than running for reelection, said Trump is bringing down the GOP’s chances of holding his district, which includes the city of Omaha and its suburbs. Political forecasters expect Democrats to flip the seat in November.

        "Some of the policies and some of the statements aren’t helpful,” Bacon told HuffPost, referring in particular to the president’s tariffs on imported goods, which can put upward pressure on prices. “You get to see it in polling in my district; he’s in the mid-30s, which just makes it hard on Republicans.”

        While former Vice President Kamala Harris won Bacon’s district in 2024, Trump is becoming a problem for Republicans across the map.

        Like, that’s a pretty fundamental mistake there buddy