Donald Trump is the least popular President in modern history – and he’s expected to announce a desperate move in an attempt to turn his approval ratings around
Donald Trump is set to take desperate measures as his poll ratings tanked spectacularly ahead of tonight’s State of the Union speech.
Trump told cable news anchors at a lunch ahead of the annual speech that he would use it to call for new tax cuts. The US President is expected to focus on the economy in his speech, as poll after poll found he was losing ground with voters on the subject – with Democrats gaining ground on the cost of living.
Over lunch with news anchors today, a tradition on the day of the State of the Union, Trump said he would ‘advocate’ for new personal and corporate tax cuts. Republicans already passed sweeping tax cuts less than a year ago in Trump’s “one big beautiful” budget bill.
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A second wave of cuts will be seen as a desperate attempt to turn the polls around.
It comes after a Washington Post/ABC News poll found 60% of Americans said they disapproved of the job Trump is doing – with 47% indicating strong approval. Just 39% said they approved of his performance, the lowest of any President ahead of a second-year State of the Union in modern history. The last time Trump’s disapproval reached 60% was shortly after the January 6th Insurrection in the final days of his first term.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will argue that Republicans are best suited to continue tackling the public’s concerns about the cost of living, ahead of November’s midterm elections.
“The president’s going to make the case that three more years with him in the White House and with Republicans on Capitol Hill we can finally achieve the American dream in this country again that we had in his first term but was lost because of Joe Biden and the Democrats over the past four years,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
Trump is also expected to boast about his immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal government, his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down and his ability to direct quick-hit military actions around the world, including in Iran and Venezuela.
Trump is also expected to decry the Supreme Court ruling against his signature tariff policies and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that decision without depending on Congress or spooking financial markets. He’s further likely to urge lawmakers to increase military funding and tighten voter identification requirements, while defending immigration operations that have drawn bipartisan criticism following the shooting deaths of two American citizens.
Jeff Shesol, a former speechwriter for Democratic President Bill Clinton, said Trump has typically used State of the Union addresses to offer more conventional tones than his usual bombast — but he’s still apt to exaggerate repeatedly.
“His job, for the sake of his party, is to show the silver lining,” Shesol said. “But if he’s going to insist that the silver lining is gold, no one’s buying it. And it will be a very difficult position on the campaign trail for Republicans to defend.”
Michael Waldman, Clinton’s former chief speechwriter, said second-term presidents “have a tough job because what they all want to say is, ‘Hey, look what a great job I’ve been doing — why don’t you love me?’”