Everybody Hates Trump Now

In 2016, Trump asked a group of Black voters a rhetorical question: “What the hell do you have to lose?” It was a message that didn’t really resonate in 2016—but it did to a much greater extent in 2024. Trump doubled his support with Black voters, from 8 to 15 percent. But already, there seem to be regrets among this group. In January, just 44 percent of Black voters disapproved of Trump’s presidency; as of early July, 72 percent did. This is happening with other groups as well. In 2024, he improved his margins among young voters and ran roughly even with Harris with men under 30; his approval rating with young voters now stands at just 28 percent—down 27 points in just six months. Arab Americans who helped Trump win Michigan are furious over his handling of Gaza and his numerous travel bans targeting the Middle East. And although there isn’t recent polling specific to Kennedy supporters’ opinion of Trump, there is clear evidence of growing angst among his allies—Laura Loomer, most prominently—that Kennedy is being stymied by those in Trump’s orbit with ties to Big Pharma.

It isn’t just casual Trump voters who are backing away, however. His own base is fiercely critical of his handling of the “Epstein files”—the name for the Department of Justice case documents relating to Epstein’s sex crimes, which are believed to include the names of many prominent figures, Republicans and Democrats alike. Fewer than two in 10 Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the files, while 82 percent want them to be released in full. This isn’t just a minor issue, either—it gets to the heart of Trump’s appeal to these voters. Their ironclad support is based on the fact that they doggedly believe that he is different from the other corrupt politicians and deep staters in Washington, and that he is committed to eradicating those people from the government. His failure to follow through on his (admittedly half-hearted) promise to release these files has rattled his core supporters, even as he is ramping up an unprecedented deportation regime.

There are signs that all of this is going to get worse too. Trump has no way out of the Epstein problem; he can either continue to stonewall, which makes him look guilty, or he can release everything, which may make him look even guiltier. Prices are rising again, thanks to a tariff strategy that makes no sense whatsoever and amounts to yet more inflation for the American consumer. The massive tax cut for the rich Trump just signed into law will soon have to be paid for by stripping poor people of their health care and jacking up costs for those on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The situation in Gaza is worse than it has been in two and a half years. His deportation regime, which will only expand under the new budget law, is causing widespread horror and outrage in communities across the country.