For All the Self-Praise, Donald Trump Faces Serious Polling Problems
Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 25 February 2026
by Andreas Schwarzkopf (link to
original)
The majority of U.S. citizens are dissatisfied with Donald Trump. His economic record is disappointing, and his approval ratings are poor.
After Trump's 108 minutes of self-praise, and the seemingly orchestrated wave of enthusiasm from his supporters, one wonders whether the U.S. president can turn the tide of public opinion in his favor. That's because the longest State of the Union Address delivered by a U.S. president contained little that was new. Repetition wears thin and entertains the audience less and less until they turn away in boredom, especially when the speaker appears uninspired and weakened.
This raises the suspicion that Trump spoke at such length and his fellow Republicans cheered so loudly to convince themselves of their own success. Yet, their particular take on things no longer seems to be getting through. With regard to content, poll results contradict Trump's address, in which he claims that the country is in great shape and that he is at the top of his game.
A majority of U.S. citizens are dissatisfied with his performance in office. His approval ratings are worse than those of Barack Obama or Joe Biden at a comparable time in office. The brutal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota — and, by extension, U.S. immigration policies — are largely rejected, just like his tariff and trade policies. Regarding the latter, it seems to be sinking in that it is American consumers and companies — not foreign countries — who are paying the tariffs.
More than half the country is disappointed with Trump’s economic record, including his handling of inflation. After all, inflation didn’t turn out as promised. Trump has also failed to bring manufacturing back to the United States. There are currently fewer manufacturing jobs than at the start of Trump’s second term. Foreign policy isn’t all that important to U.S. citizens anyway. Therefore, they would hardly have missed the fact that Trump mentioned almost nothing about the conflict with Iran, despite escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The Democrats have so far been unable to turn this into political capital. They shouldn’t limit themselves to merely refuting Trump. Of course, it isn’t wrong for a U.S. Democrat to rightly protest against racism during Trump's address. Nor is it wrong for Democrats to invite victims of Jeffrey Epstein to make a statement. But what they still lack is an overarching theme and a leader to match.
After Trump's 108 minutes of self-praise, and the seemingly orchestrated wave of enthusiasm from his supporters, one wonders whether the U.S. president can turn the tide of public opinion in his favor. That's because the longest State of the Union Address delivered by a U.S. president contained little that was new. Repetition wears thin and entertains the audience less and less until they turn away in boredom, especially when the speaker appears uninspired and weakened.
This raises the suspicion that Trump spoke at such length and his fellow Republicans cheered so loudly to convince themselves of their own success. Yet, their particular take on things no longer seems to be getting through. With regard to content, poll results contradict Trump's address, in which he claims that the country is in great shape and that he is at the top of his game.
A majority of U.S. citizens are dissatisfied with his performance in office. His approval ratings are worse than those of Barack Obama or Joe Biden at a comparable time in office. The brutal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota — and, by extension, U.S. immigration policies — are largely rejected, just like his tariff and trade policies. Regarding the latter, it seems to be sinking in that it is American consumers and companies — not foreign countries — who are paying the tariffs.
More than half the country is disappointed with Trump’s economic record, including his handling of inflation. After all, inflation didn’t turn out as promised. Trump has also failed to bring manufacturing back to the United States. There are currently fewer manufacturing jobs than at the start of Trump’s second term. Foreign policy isn’t all that important to U.S. citizens anyway. Therefore, they would hardly have missed the fact that Trump mentioned almost nothing about the conflict with Iran, despite escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The Democrats have so far been unable to turn this into political capital. They shouldn’t limit themselves to merely refuting Trump. Of course, it isn’t wrong for a U.S. Democrat to rightly protest against racism during Trump's address. Nor is it wrong for Democrats to invite victims of Jeffrey Epstein to make a statement. But what they still lack is an overarching theme and a leader to match.
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