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by WILL FOLKS
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I’ve always been an agnostic when it comes to Donald Trump. And I’ve always run a media outlet that assesses his performance in office on an issue-by-issue basis. When people ask me what I think of the president, I reply “on what issue?”
You tell me the issue, I’ll tell you what I think of him…
To me, that’s how independent thinkers should operate.
A decade ago, FITSNews endorsed Trump’s first presidential candidacy because it promised to take a battering ram to the failed GOP establishment in Washington, D.C. Many liberals in our audience have never let us live that editorial decision down. Sadly, though, Trump became the GOP establishment during his first term in office – reneging on all the fiscal conservative commitments he made as a candidate. Accordingly, we decided to endorse libertarian Jo Jorgenson in 2020 – and declined to endorse any candidate for president in 2024.
Given a second chance by the voters, Trump started strong – but has recently fallen into the same neoconservative trap as many of his predecessors. His recent decision to wage war against Iran was clearly a strategic miscalculation – one that is costing him dearly in the polls.
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More than a year ago, Trump’s approval rating went underwater – meaning more Americans said they disapproved of his performance than approved. In February, we noted the escalating erosion of Trump’s popularity following the Epstein Files scandal. With the war in Iran now dragging into its sixth full week – and Trump’s administration sending all manner of mixed messages about its conduct – his ratings are falling further.
According to aggregate polling data compiled by RealClear Polling, as of Monday (April 6, 2026) Trump’s disapproval rating had climbed all the way to 56.8% – while his approval rating had dipped to just 40.9%. That’s a gap of -15.9%. Trump had slipped to a record -16% the previous day, but a favorable survey from Rasmussen Reports ticked the metric modestly in his favor.
Trump is now almost as unpopular as his predecessor.
Former U.S. president Joe Biden left office on January 20, 2025 with 57.1% of Americans disapproving of his performance and just 39% approving (an -18.1% gap). His low-water mark came on July 20, 2022, when 57.4% of Americans disapproved of him, per the aggregate data, compared to just 37.1% who approved (a gap of -20.3%).
During Trump’s first term, his low-water mark was recorded by RealClear Polling on December 13, 2017. On that date, a whopping 58.1% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s job performance compared to just 37% who approved (a gap of -21.1%). Trump left office on January 20, 2021 with 56.1% of Americans disapproving of his performance and just 41.1% approving (a -15% gap).
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RELATED | TRUMP ISSUES ANOTHER IRAN ULTIMATUM
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As we have consistently pointed out, Trump’s true approval rating has not always been reflected in public opinion surveys – particularly not those sponsored by mainstream media outlets. Historically, he has outperformed the “fake polls.” Having said that, the Epstein fiasco – and the war with Iran – are clearly dragging his numbers down.
Even worse for Republicans? Trump’s soaring unpopularity comes just seven months before pivotal midterm elections – with early signs pointing to the likelihood of significant Democrat gains.
Can Trump and his party turn things around? We shall see…
One final word on our Trump coverage: a national influencer recently referred to this author as a “Trump hater.” Based on our prior decade of covering this president, it shouldn’t be difficult to debunk such a characterization. On the flip side, both this journalist and this media outlet continue to be bashed by many liberals in the Palmetto State as “MAGA apologists” (claims which should also be easily debunked).
The truth? I will continue to assess Trump’s performance on the issues… offering my very best, most honest take on the good, bad and ugly of his administration and the outcomes it is (or isn’t) producing. Same goes for our entire news team.
If that’s the sort of coverage you value, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re looking for reflexive Trump hate or regurgitative Trump adulation, though, there are plenty of mindless media options out there (including many of our critics and competitors) who would happily continue to misinform/manipulate you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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8 comments
That Trump’s assignment was to destroy our country, all along, is becoming so obvious, even some of the die-hard Trumptards are starting to figure it out.
Trump destroys everything he touches. So the country should not take it personally. His goal is to leverage as much money for himself and his family as possible out of whatever he is involved in before moving on to his next grift. Now it just happens to be the US Government and the American people. He has watched Putin do it to the Russian people for years, and now he wants to do it to the American people. It’s kleptocracy, and Republicans in Congress are either complicit or spineless. Anyone can see what is going on. You would have to be a fool not to.
But this article is largely BS. Fitsnews has done nothing to call out Trump’s in-your-face corruption, and his openly selling access, influence, pardons, protection, classified information, and anything else he can get away. It will take decades for the country to recover from the damage this man and those who support him have brought on this country. When he leaves office or this world, whichever is first, his family, his billionaire buddies, and he will be richer than ever from the wealth they pillaged from American people.
Noted that you still drool over Barry skank
Polls of Fitsnews has them in the single digits,
Names of the “die-hard” Communist, please. Post them.
No poll of very low numbers of people can show anything remotely close if his approval or disaproval.
There is no hope for the DOPES who believe these stupid polls of 500 here or 999, there
Dumb sheep will always be dumb. Look across the country and see the tens of millions of even more Americans that stand behind him.
Hahahahahaha @ Trump haters with skidmarks in their panties
Terry still has his scat fetish I see.
MAGA fell for an extremely obvious shady used car dealer, obvious from day one. I think by now if they’re pretending otherwise it’s either out of pure brainwashing or extreme embarrassment.
If you haven’t spoken out by now, you’re a lost cause. (As if voting for him three times didn’t already make you one.)
Where’s the beef to go between your two slices of nothing?
Why don’t you post hard evidence? Because there is none. Even Will gaslights. Fits is currently suffering revenue losses, sad to say