WASHINGTON (AP) – Eric Hildenbrand has noticed Prices continue to rise This year, President Donald Trump At the White House. He doesn’t blame Trump, but says his choice for the president in 2024 Gov. Gavin Newsom And the other Democrats who control his hometown of California are negligent.
“We can’t compare California to other countries,” said Hildenbrand, 76, who lives in San Diego. “I don’t know what’s going on in the rest of the country. It seems like prices are falling. Things are getting better, but I’m not always looking at them here.”
Voters like Hildenbrand, whose Republican president’s support remains unshakable, will help explain Trump’s vote count and how they differ significantly from the voting trajectory of other presidents. Associated Press No-Cal Center for Public Relations Surveys conducted in March It turns out that 42% of US adults approved Trump’s job performance. That’s a lower rating than other recent presidents At the beginning of the second condition, Includes Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush.
Latest AP-NORC votes, Starting in July, Trump will be approved by 40%. That’s not a meaningful change since March, but there’s some evidence that Trump’s support may be softened, at least on the margins. A July poll showed that approval for handling immigrants had dropped slightly since the beginning of the year. Several other pollers, Gallup etc.shows a downward slide of overall approval since the slightly earlier in January’s term.
But even these shifts are within a relatively narrow range, which is typical for Trump. New AP-NORC Polling Tracker Trump’s favorable rating has remained pretty much stable since the end of his first term, indicating that between 33% and 43% of US adults say they saw him positively for more than five years.
These long-term trends highlight Trump’s many steady enemies. But loyal supporters also help explain why it is difficult to change the president’s views, using an approach that many find abrasive, even though they pursue policies that many Americans don’t support.
Trump’s job performance approval is sustained low
Trump did not have a traditional honeymoon period for his second term. He wasn’t the case at the beginning.
AP-NORC vote held in March 2017two months after his first term, 42% of Americans showed that they had “somewhat” or “strongly” approved of his performance. It is primarily where his approval assessments remained for the next four years.
The recent slip on immigration is particularly important. Great strength For Trump in the 2024 election. That was the case in the early days of his second season. One of the few fields Where he surpassed overall approval. In March, about half of US adults approved the handling of immigrants. However, in a July AP-NORC poll, he found his approval for immigration at 43%, in line with the overall approval rating.
Other recent polls show growing dissatisfaction with Trump’s approach to immigration. CNN/SSRS Votes 55% of US adults say the president has gone too far to deport immigrants who live in the United States illegally, up 10 percentage points since February.
“They’re not voting in the 2024 election,” said Donovan Baldwin, 18, of Asheboro, North Carolina, who did not vote. “And that’s why people are protesting because they’re offensive as an attack. That’s not true.”
Trump’s assessment of his economic handling was more positive during his first term, but was persistently negative for his second term. A July poll found it I don’t think there are very few Americans. Trump’s policies have benefited them so far.
Even if he’s not all the fans Trump has ever done, Brian Nichols, 58, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is giving him the bounty of doubt.
Nichols, who voted for Trump in 2024, is concerned about both his style and substance, especially Trump’s social media presence and his only, only tariffs, but he likes what he sees from the president overall. Nichols also doesn’t like pushes to eliminate federal agencies such as the education sector.
But despite his occasional disagreement with Trump, Nichols said he wanted to give the president space to work, and he trusts him to act as guardians in the House and Senate, which are now run by Republicans.
“We took him on the grounds and we should trust him to work for America’s best,” Nichols said.
Trump’s overall view has been pretty stable since 2019
Trump has pushed widespread policies for the past six months. Earlier this year, Americans I supported myself Because of the high prices as a result of his approach to tariffs. A July poll found it Most people think Trump’s tax and spending bills benefit the wealthy, but few people think they’ll pay dividends to the middle class and people like them.
However, discomfort about individual policies may not lead to wholesale changes in Trump’s views. They were largely constant throughout the years of confusion, and his favorable ratings remained within the 10% point range through the Covid-19 pandemic, felony convictions and assassination attempts.
For some of his supporters, the benefits of his presidency far outweigh the costs.
Kim Schultz, 62, of Spring Hill, Florida, said he was excited by what Trump is doing as president, particularly his aggressive move to deport anyone who illegally lives in the country.
She said she wasn’t wary, even if Trump’s tariffs finally took effect and pushed prices up.
“I had the opinion that if tariffs cost me a little more here and there, I wouldn’t have had any issues with it,” she said.
All over the country, Hildenbrand dislikes Trump’s character and his preference for insults, including those directed at foreign leaders. But he thinks Trump is making things happen.
“More or less, for me, he shows that he’s on the right track,” he said. “I don’t agree with Trump’s character, but I agree with what he’s accomplished.”
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Cooper reported from Phoenix.
