Even Trump voters are mad | Today, Explained

TL;DR

Trump's approval has hit historic lows because voters feel betrayed by rising prices instead of the economic relief he promised.

Key Points

• 1.Trump's approval rating has fallen to historic lows, dropping 20 points with independents in just one year, with gains among non-white and young voters reversing.
• 2.Conservative radio host John Fredericks (rated Trump a 10/10) admits the core problem: grocery bills are still rising, and voters judge the economy by what they pay at the store — not statistics.
• 3.Fredericks called the Epstein files Trump's "biggest mistake," saying they should have been released immediately and criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi for inaction.
• 4.On Minnesota ICE shootings, Fredericks argued Trump should have deployed 1,500 troops earlier, claiming the deaths could have been prevented — a pro-enforcement critique, not a pro-protest one.
• 5.Focus group researcher Sarah Longwell (The Bulwark) says voters supported border security and deporting dangerous criminals, but did not sign up for masked agents raiding schools, holding children as bait, or deporting 20-year residents.
• 6.Longwell says the economic betrayal lens colors everything: voters tolerated Trump's chaos in his first term because the economy felt good; now that prices are high, nothing gets forgiven.
• 7.Looking ahead, Longwell warns the GOP has no clear post-Trump vision; the party is splitting between "America First" (MTG, Tucker Carlson) and "MAGA establishment" (Vance, Rubio), and focus groups show voters — especially women — simply do not like JD Vance.