Politics
NEW: Democrat Party Approval Falls To New Record Low
Gusts of warmer spring air haven’t managed to unfreeze the Democratic Party’s position at the bottom of most polls. One on Wednesday proved that the progressive-dominated party is still capable of breaking records as it sinks to historic new lows.
Just 29% of respondents in a recent UMass Amherst poll said they have a positive view of Democrats, a finding in line with another by CNN exactly one month ago that proves Democrats are no closer to developing a winning message for 2026, let alone 2028.
The nationwide poll of 1,000 respondents, conducted between April 4th and the 9th, gives the opposition party even worse marks on job performance: A combined 62% of voters disapprove of Democrats’ work in Washington, with 40% saying they “strongly disagree” with how Democrats are handling themselves.
“Anti-Trump fatigue” may have something to do with the doldrums Democrats find themselves in. Another poll this week showed that most California voters – nearly half of whom are registered Democrats – prefer that their next governor not base their candidacy on opposing the president’s agenda, according to Politico.
That’s bad news for Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris, two progressives who are considering using the perch to advance their 2028 ambitions.
President Trump, meanwhile, continues to earn 50% support among voters for his handling of immigration while pluralities told pollsters they believe Trump is strengthening America’s standing in the world, strengthening American democracy, bolstering public health, and strengthening the U.S. Constitution, Masslive reports.
On top of those findings, 53% of voters say they trust the Republican to put the interests of “ordinary Americans first,” a sign that Trump’s populist approach to tariffs may be appreciated by a wide swath of working-class voters.
Indeed, he has drawn unlikely praise from corners of the Democrats’ coalition. On Sunday, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain credited Trump’s tariffs with helping to “bring work back” to the U.S., causing MSNBC host Simone Sanders Townsend to nearly drop her jaw on-air. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz looked similarly mortified when asked to respond to a statement by the union in support of Trump’s economic policies.
The UMass Amherst poll comes two days after another showing President Trump solidifying his support among a majority of Americans. The massive poll of 2,286 registered voters, conducted by Harvard’s Center for American Political Studies, The Harris Poll, and HarrisX, shows at least 48% of voters still believe Trump is the right man for the moment. That compares to 46% of respondents who disapprove of his job performance and another 6% who said they “don’t know” or don’t have an opinion.
Half of those polled say they support “placing tariffs on goods from China, Mexico and Canada to encourage U.S. manufacturing.”
A combined 56% of respondents say Trump is doing better than expected or just as expected.
