Despite all the leftist and mainstream media wailing and gnashing of teeth about the new administration, fresh polling from two major mainstream news outlets paints a truly bleak picture for Democrats and a relatively rosy one for President Trump.
In the most striking read on the pulse of America, the Democratic Party's favorability rating has collapsed by a whopping 20 percentage points in just four years, and now stands at just 29%, according to CNN. That's the lowest in the history of CNN's poll, which goes back to 1992. NBC News had a similar reading: 27% positive against 55% negative. "In more than 30 years of this poll, we've never seen either party hit a number this low, in terms of negatives," said NBC's Steve Kornacki.
While it's different in degree, the dissatisfaction extends to Democrats themselves. Only 63% of Democrats and Dem-leaning independents view their own party favorably, and 52% say leaders are taking the party in the wrong direction. That compares to 79% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who give a thumbs-up to the GOP.
The sense that the Democratic Party is adrift is further reinforced by Democrats' lack of any consensus whatsoever about who "best reflects the core values" of the party. More than 30% drew a complete blank, while the top three people named by respondents were Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (10%), failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris (9%) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (8%).
Like I said, the Democrats have a problem.
— Prodigal (@ProdigalThe3rd) March 16, 2025
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New NBC News poll: Democratic Party hits record polling low
Just 7% of registered voters have a “very” positive of the Democrat Party, 27% say they have “positive” views of the party
Trump has 47% job approval rating, up 7 points… https://t.co/wCHStJ69iS pic.twitter.com/idYm0iA27U
Readings for Republicans are much better. With the GOP now in control of the White House, Senate and House of Represntatives, NBC News found 44% of registered voters think America is heading in the right direction -- the highest it's been since early 2004.
As Democrats hit a record-low in approval rating, Trump his tied his career-high approval rating, with 47% of registered voters content with his performance. That still leaves him with a net-negative, as 51% disapprove. That's lower than any of his four predecessors at this point in their terms, but higher than the 40% approval rating Trump posted in 2017. Then, only 50% of Republicans viewed Trump "very positively." That number has soared to 74% in this month's NBC poll.
Americans are coming around to Trump's approach to handling border security and immigration, with 55% approving and 43% disapproving. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has a net-positive approval rating, with 46% saying it's a "good idea" compared to 40% who say it's a "bad idea." There's a major split about the future of DOGE: 33% say there's "much more to be done" while 33% say it's "reckless and should stop now." Elon Musk has a 51% negative-feelings rate, compared to 39% who feel positive about him.
In a major departure from all of his previous readings, Trump is in the red on his handling of the economy (54% disapprove, 44% approve) and the cost of living (55% disapprove, 42% approve). An overwhelming 82% of voters say the state of the economy is fair or poor, with just 18% calling it excellent. Trump is likewise underwater on foreign policy and the Russia/Ukraine war.
