General Discussion

Jilly_in_VA

(11,856 posts) Thu Apr 24, 2025, 02:39 PM Apr 24

New Trump polling shows what Dem voters really want -- and why Gavin Newsom has it all wrong

Despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to spin his first 100 days as a shining success, he is more unpopular today than at any point in his first term, when his ratings were notoriously dismal. A batch of new polls released this week suggests Trump may be in even more political trouble than Republicans initially feared.

Only 37% of voters approve of how Trump has handled the economy, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos survey. Worse still, Reuters/Ipsos found that a majority of Americans oppose Trump’s handling of immigration, his signature issue. Trump’s growing unpopularity is fueling a wave of Democratic overperformance in recent special elections. Even Trump-aligned pollster Rasmussen Reports found Democrats now enjoy a 4-point lead in the generic congressional ballot.

None of those gains seem to matter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent the week bashing the Democratic Party as a directionless mess that should work harder to meet MAGA extremists halfway.

“I don’t know what the party is,” Newsom told The Hill on Monday. “I’m still struggling with that.”

Newsom’s pessimism about Democrats’ future isn’t new, but it is consistently misguided. The governor clearly wants to position himself as a politician willing to speak tough truths to the party ahead of his presumed 2028 presidential campaign. That’s great! Democrats certainly need to have honest conversations about where we struggled in 2024. But those conversations should be based on data and discussions with our voters — not on Newsom’s chats with MAGA influencers like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.

That’s especially true when Newsom’s so-called strategy required Democrats to bash the transgender community and write off Trump’s illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had protected status to reside in the U.S., as a “distraction” from “real” issues. Newsom seems to think that Democrats can only win in 2026 and 2028 if they abandon the justice principles that are the foundation of our party. The polls say otherwise.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-gavin-newsom-poll-democrat-voters-rcna202810

If he "doesn't know what this partu is", he should either shut up and listen harder, or leave it.

20 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

New Trump polling shows what Dem voters really want -- and why Gavin Newsom has it all wrong (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Apr 24 OP

Newsom is great in a lot of ways senseandsensibility Apr 24 #1

IMHO he's trying to find that nebulous middle ground of progressoid Apr 24 #3

hhhmmm....is the shine starting to wear off Mr. Newsome? mwmisses4289 Apr 24 #2

If you are going to bash a Democrat, at least get their name right. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Monday #14

Hardly "bashing" angrychair Monday #17

Sorry, either I hit one too many letters on my phone, mwmisses4289 Monday #20

A politician will always be a politician....he has the looks, talks smoothly and I think would walkingman Apr 24 #4

I hope someone gets it right in 2028. Omnipresent Apr 24 #5

Triangulation 2.0.... yourout Apr 24 #6

The Democratic party needs to go back to their roots. bob4460 Apr 24 #7

Those are all things Democrats have done recently/tried to do recently/support. W_HAMILTON Apr 24 #8

As a registered Democrat since 1965 I looked for common human decency, compassion, and intelligence in candidates. Ping Tung Apr 24 #9

He's late for jail. Impeach, remove and send him Emile Apr 24 #10

Newsom has been a huge post-election disappoinment! ananda Apr 24 #11

I know! He's the last one I thought would cave to the right so quickly. Sky Jewels Monday #16

"he is more unpopular today than at any point in his first term" Wiz Imp Apr 24 #12

Maddow Blog-As his approval rating sinks, Trump wants investigations into pollsters LetMyPeopleVote Monday #13

Either you stand for freedom and democracy or you stand for fascism and dictatorship. Hotler Monday #15

Yet another Newsom hate thread? JoseBalow Monday #18

Not a hate thread Jilly_in_VA Monday #19

senseandsensibility

(21,876 posts)

1. Newsom is great in a lot of ways

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 02:42 PM

Apr 24

but reading the mood of the base appears to be beyond him. Either that or he has his own motives for doing this which escape me. Either way, I am a former fan of his who would never support him for President now. He's really blowing it.

progressoid

(51,344 posts)

3. IMHO he's trying to find that nebulous middle ground of

Reply to senseandsensibility (Reply #1)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 02:50 PM

Apr 24

Independents, disgruntled Democrats, and never Trumpers.

Or maybe he just likes to be in the lime light.

mwmisses4289

(982 posts)

2. hhhmmm....is the shine starting to wear off Mr. Newsome?

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 02:45 PM

Apr 24

Bernardo de La Paz

(55,127 posts)

14. If you are going to bash a Democrat, at least get their name right. . . . nt

Reply to mwmisses4289 (Reply #2)

Mon Apr 28, 2025, 01:03 PM

Monday

angrychair

(10,572 posts)

17. Hardly "bashing"

Reply to Bernardo de La Paz (Reply #14)

Mon Apr 28, 2025, 04:04 PM

Monday

Anyone that says that the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a "distraction" is not a Democrat. Giving a platform to rightwing extremists like Charlie Kirk is not something Democrats do.
Newsom is the Joe Manchin of Joe Liebermans.

I think we have got all the "help" we need from him.

mwmisses4289

(982 posts)

20. Sorry, either I hit one too many letters on my phone,

Reply to Bernardo de La Paz (Reply #14)

Mon Apr 28, 2025, 07:06 PM

Monday

or my auto correct added the e to spell some.

walkingman

(9,166 posts)

4. A politician will always be a politician....he has the looks, talks smoothly and I think would

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 02:55 PM

Apr 24

be a viable contender for POTUS. I'm personally turned off by him when I see that he was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle. Just not my genre of people.

I personally am more attracted to a progressive candidate.

I hardly recognize America these days. Pretty much everyone looks like a conman to me. I think America is all about money, How much do you fucking need?

Omnipresent

(6,869 posts)

5. I hope someone gets it right in 2028.

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:05 PM

Apr 24

Larger crowd sizes and a billion dollars in raised funds certainly didn’t help win a single swing state!

yourout

(8,430 posts)

6. Triangulation 2.0....

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:10 PM

Apr 24

Find the squishy middle..
And lose spectacularly.

bob4460

(310 posts)

7. The Democratic party needs to go back to their roots.

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:23 PM

Apr 24

Raise the minimum wage, healthcare for all, secure social security,protect peoples rights through codifying laws like civil rights and abortion, legalize pot.You know what we used to think about the Democratic party!

W_HAMILTON

(8,941 posts)

8. Those are all things Democrats have done recently/tried to do recently/support.

Reply to bob4460 (Reply #7)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:36 PM

Apr 24

Ping Tung

(2,264 posts)

9. As a registered Democrat since 1965 I looked for common human decency, compassion, and intelligence in candidates.

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:45 PM

Apr 24

Alas, getting all of the above, is seldom the case. Jimmy Carter was am exception.

"Getting into politics is like stepping in dog shit." Che Guevara

Emile

(34,291 posts)

10. He's late for jail. Impeach, remove and send him

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:49 PM

Apr 24

to El Salvador.

ananda

(31,613 posts)

11. Newsom has been a huge post-election disappoinment!

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 03:56 PM

Apr 24

AOC and Sanders, however, have been great!

And of course, Al Green and some others.

Sky Jewels

(9,148 posts)

16. I know! He's the last one I thought would cave to the right so quickly.

Reply to ananda (Reply #11)

Mon Apr 28, 2025, 03:40 PM

Monday

He never used to pull his punches. WTF is the matter with him?

Wiz Imp

(4,859 posts)

12. "he is more unpopular today than at any point in his first term"

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 05:12 PM

Apr 24

Last edited Thu Apr 24, 2025, 06:57 PM - Edit history (1)

This is false. In his first term, Trump hit a low of 37% (average across pollsters) with a disapproval rate of 58% - a net -21%. The worst poll for Trump so far was the Pew poll recently released which showed Trump at 40%/59% for a net -19%. So the unfavorable score from this Pew poll was higher than the overall average at any point in the first term, but the net rating still was worse at his worst point in Term 1. And of course, the Pew poll was a single poll. The next worst net numbers for Trump so far this year has been -13%. And the overall average right now is still only about --7%.

Trump's polls have been sinking pretty quickly of late, and I have no doubt that within the next couple months his overall ratings fall to a lower level than at any point in his first term, but he's not there yet.

LetMyPeopleVote

(162,428 posts)

13. Maddow Blog-As his approval rating sinks, Trump wants investigations into pollsters

Reply to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

Mon Apr 28, 2025, 01:00 PM

Monday

Instead of dealing with the failures that have led to his drop in support, the president is blaming pollsters and news organizations.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lnuq3mvmts2c

Trump could deal with the failures that have made him so unpopular.

But he apparently finds it easier to call for investigations into "criminal" pollsters — rhetoric that's become difficult to simply shrug off.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/approval-rating-sinks-trump-wants-investigations-pollsters-rcna203262

For his part, Trump has seen the shift in public attitudes, and he’s ready to reassess the direction of his failing presidency.

No, I’m just kidding. He’s actually lashing out at pollsters in new and ridiculous ways. Newsweek noted:

President Donald Trump has said pollsters that have shown his approval ratings sliding in recent weeks should be investigated for “election fraud.” Trump cited recent polls from The New York Times, ABC News/The Washington Post, and Fox News, which put his approval rating on 42 percent, 39 percent, and 44 percent respectively.

As this week got underway, Trump, shortly before sunrise, published an item to his social media platform that read, “We don’t have a Free and Fair ‘Press’ in this Country anymore. We have a Press that writes BAD STORIES, and CHEATS, BIG, ON POLLS. IT IS COMPROMISED AND CORRUPT. SAD!”

That came shortly on the heels of a related item, in which he lashed out at “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.” The president added, “These people should be investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the FoxNews Pollster while you’re at it.”.....

The hysterics were not altogether surprising. Trump did, after all, sue The Des Moines Register for publishing the results of a poll he didn’t like. So it stands to reason that he’d freak out in response to an avalanche of survey data showing his fading popularity.

But to the extent that reality has any bearing on this discussion, there are a few things to keep in mind here. The first is that there is no conspiracy: Polls show Trump struggling because Trump is failing and much of the public has noticed.

Second, the basis of the president’s weird conspiracy theory is absurd on its face: Pollsters can’t be engaged in “election interference” when there is no election, and the politician in question can’t run for re-election. (Even if there were an election, of course, there’s nothing improper about releasing public opinion research that one party doesn’t like.)

Third, and most importantly, some might feel the temptation to simply shrug off Trump’s call for an investigation into “criminal” polling, but given recent events, that seems inherently risky. This president has already a demonstrated a willingness to direct the Justice Department to go after his perceived foes, and there’s no reason to assume he’ll abandon these authoritarian-style tactics anytime soon.