Harsh… Poll raises concerns for Trump and Republicans ahead of midterms

19th February 2026

2 minutes read

Harsh… Poll raises concerns for Trump and Republicans ahead of midterms

The popularity of U.S. President Donald Trump is generally declining, posing a concern for the Republican Party ahead of the upcoming midterm elections this fall.

Nearly half of Americans describe their president as “harsh,” according to a new poll filled with warning signs for Republicans ahead of the elections.

Axios reported that a new poll conducted by The Economist in collaboration with YouGov found that about 56% of Americans express strong or moderate dissatisfaction with Trump’s performance, using harsh terms to describe this discontent.

Approximately 47% of respondents described Trump as “racist,” while 24% rejected this label, and 29% expressed no opinion.

Around 49% of Americans consider Trump, whose wealth has increased since returning to the White House, “corrupt,” while 23% rejected this characterization, and 29% had no opinion, according to Axios.

At the same time, 46% of adults described the president as “harsh” or “tough,” compared with 22% who did not see him that way, and 32% expressed no opinion.

Commenting on the poll, White House spokesman Davis Engel said in an email to Axios: “The decisive poll was on November 5, 2024, when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to implement his popular and sensible agenda.”

He added: “The president has already achieved historic progress, not only in America but around the world.”

Typically, the president’s party loses seats in the House of Representatives during midterms, but Republicans are also concerned about potentially losing some Senate seats in the upcoming fall elections.

The poll showed that inflation and the economy are the two top concerns for Americans. While inflation is decreasing, consumers are still feeling the impact of rising prices.

According to the poll, Trump’s net approval is currently lower than former President Joe Biden’s at the same stage of his term, and also lower than Trump’s own net approval at the same stage of his first term.

However, Trump enjoys higher net approval among Republicans than he did at this stage of his first term.