Former Strategist Claims Trump’s Approval “Crashing Out,” Cites Polls and Unrealistic Self-Perception
A former Republican strategist who previously advised President George W. Bush has asserted that President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are in a significant decline, a trend he believes the former president is unwilling to acknowledge. The strategist, Steve Schmidt, made these remarks via the social media platform X, accompanied by an analysis of recent polling data.
Schmidt highlighted reports indicating a sharp drop in Trump’s popularity. “Donald Trump’s approval rating is crashing out,” he stated on Sunday morning. His analysis pointed to specific polls showing support for Trump at levels as low as 30%, with one poll indicating a mere 36% approval rating against a 62% disapproval.
Despite this apparent downturn, Schmidt noted Trump’s persistent belief in his own elevated popularity. “And yet Trump thinks he’s more popular than ever,” Schmidt observed, referencing Trump’s own claims of near-universal support. Schmidt contrasted this with Trump’s own reported reaction to a poll showing 100% approval among self-identified “MAGA Republicans,” a group inherently predisposed to supporting him. Trump reportedly described it as “the craziest poll I’ve ever seen,” attributing the perceived overwhelming support to his actions in “protecting our country from lunatics with a nuclear weapon.”
Schmidt, a figure with a history of advising prominent Republicans, has become a vocal critic of Trump. His commentary has often been sharp, including his earlier characterisation of a hypothetical unprovoked invasion of Iran as “madness.” At the time, Schmidt described the White House as an “asylum” and labelled the president as “deranged, a predator and criminal, and he is immoral, abusive and dishonest.” He further placed Trump within a group he termed the “Epstein class.”
Earlier in March, Schmidt also described Trump as “despised” on the global stage, attributing this to a confluence of crises stemming from his policies. These included rising fuel prices, humanitarian concerns, and the aforementioned conflict with Iran. He predicted further escalation in gas prices and foretold increasing American casualties as military units prepared for operations in Iranian territory.
At that time, Schmidt summarised the situation, stating, “Prices are rising, airports have gone off the rails, gas is sky high, and America is losing a war to Iran because it was planned by fools. Everywhere there is disaster, and it has not gone unnoticed by the American people.”
Schmidt has also speculated on Trump’s motivations regarding foreign policy, suggesting that the former president may have abandoned efforts for peace after failing to secure the Nobel Peace Prize. He recalled Trump’s purported disappointment and subsequent letter to the Norwegian Prime Minister.
According to Schmidt, Trump wrote, “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.” Trump’s reported sentiment was, “I’m no longer interested in it [the Peace Prize].”
Psychological Underpinnings of Rejection Sensitivity
The issue of Trump’s apparent difficulty in accepting negative feedback, whether in the form of declining poll numbers or electoral defeat, has also been examined from a psychological perspective. Dr. Bandy X. Lee, a psychiatrist who previously spoke with Salon Magazine, offered insights into this behaviour, linking it to narcissistic tendencies.
Dr. Lee explained that individuals with “pathological narcissism are abusive and dangerous because of their catastrophic neediness.” She used the analogy of a drowning person, stating that their survival instinct might lead them to push others down to save themselves.
Lee elaborated on the fundamental need for love and self-love, suggesting that a “toxic narcissist is desperately lacking” in this regard. This deficit, she argued, drives them to overcompensate by constructing an exaggerated self-image of superiority, infallibility, and exceptional intelligence. “This is why he must overcompensate, creating for himself a self-image where he is the best at everything, never wrong, better than all the experts, and a ‘stable genius.’”
The ongoing analysis of Trump’s public pronouncements and his reactions to political and public opinion data continues to be a subject of significant interest and debate. The claims made by former strategists like Steve Schmidt, coupled with expert psychological assessments, offer a multifaceted view of the former president’s approach to his public standing and perceived setbacks.
