Trump’s Desperate Plot to Stop Blue Wave Backfires Spectacularly
Donald Trump’s attempt to energize Republicans with a $5,000 payout is facing a serious polling problem, with voters rejecting the proposal just days after he unveiled it at the GOP’s midterm convention.
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At the Dallas convention, designed to rally the GOP before the Nov. 3 elections, Trump promised every adult American a $5,000 payment if Republicans retain control of both houses of Congress, potentially adding $1.35 trillion to the national debt.
But an NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted from Sept. 11–15 found voters were more than twice as likely to back a candidate opposed to the plan than one who expressed support for it.
While 21 percent said Trump’s proposal would make them more likely to back a candidate, 46 percent said it would make them less likely to do so. Among independents, 45 percent said they would be less likely to support a candidate who endorsed the plan.
Another poll delivered a similar warning.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey of 1,143 Americans found 63 percent disapproved of Trump’s dividend proposal, including 4 in 10 Republicans and 9 in 10 Democrats.
The proposal was a desperate attempt by Trump to boost support for the GOP ahead of the midterms.
While midterms are historically difficult for the party in power, things have been particularly bleak for the Republicans amid Trump’s deeply unpopular war against Iran.
The conflict, launched in February without congressional authorization, has sent energy prices sharply higher.
AAA puts the national average for regular gasoline at about $4.48 a gallon, up from $4.14 over Labor Day weekend, while diesel has hit a record $6.49 a gallon.
As prices rise, polling indicates growing frustration with both the economy and the war.
The NBC News survey found 55 percent of voters believed Trump’s policies had harmed the economy, up from 48 per cent in March, before the conflict pushed up the cost of fuel and other goods.
More than six in 10 voters said the war in Iran had not been worth it, while 57 percent said they would be less likely to support a candidate who backed the conflict.
Democrats held a 4-point advantage over Republicans when voters were asked which party they trusted to handle the war — a result within the poll’s margin of error.
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The parties were separated by just 1 point on the economy, also within the margin of error. It marked the third consecutive NBC News poll in which Republicans and Democrats were broadly level on economic management. Three years ago, Republicans held a 21-point advantage on the issue.
Democrats also led by 7 points when voters were asked which party they trusted to control inflation.
Trump’s personal ratings have meanwhile fallen to a second-term low in the poll. Just 41 percent of registered voters approved of his job performance, compared with 56 percent who disapproved.
Only 25 percent strongly approved of the president—the second-lowest figure recorded in the NBC News poll across his first and second terms.
The survey also found Trump himself could be a liability for Republican candidates.
Fifty-two percent of voters said they would be less likely to support a congressional candidate endorsed by Trump. Meanwhile, 43 percent said their vote was intended to signal opposition to the president.
Among independents, that figure rose to 46 percent.
“Donald Trump has achieved his goal of making this election about him at a historic level. The problem for Trump and Republicans on the ballot in November is that he has also made history in the highest share of voters who say their vote is in opposition to Trump,” Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates told NBC News.
That is bad news ahead of the midterms. And polling shows it’s not looking good for the GOP.
Democrats currently hold a 5-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot, leading Republicans 50 percent to 45 percent in the NBC News survey.
Republicans are expected to lose control of the House, with the Senate also potentially in play.
Republican strategist Doug Heye summarised the pressure facing his party on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins:
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“Republicans know that their back is against the wall,” Heye said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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