Since 1953, no president has ever entered office at less than 50% approval, that is, except for President Trump, who, when inaugurated for the second time, had just 47% approval. This same data Gallup showed that, except for briefly with George H.W. Bush (at 48%), no other president had earned less than half the approval of independents, but for President Trump, who, at the beginning of this term, sat briefly at 46%.

President Trump’s overall approval rating dropped from the 47% he entered with to 45% in the first quarter, and in April, the rating dropped further to 41% (as per Forbes and Reuters), and then in a May survey, just 36% of independents approved of President Trump.

Fox News is decidedly a conservative outlet, and their own June poll showed that 46% of registered voters approved of the president. There is likely bias throughout the polling process and human errors; however, when even the conservative poll lines up somewhat with the rest of them, that should give weight to the fact that the president’s numbers are dropping. Starting low, they have been falling month after month, especially with independents.

Even for a centrist like me, it isn’t exactly undeserved, either. Washington post, CBS News among many others have all reported on the claimed 160 billion dollar DOGE savings, but may cost taxpayers up to $135 billion as the government wrongfully terminated too many people, especially from important posts where they were irreplaceable, having then to try and rapidly rehire those same people (I'd wager those rehires had it easy pushing for larger salaries, as the supply and demand of their position requires) and now the U.S. government faces class action lawsuits.

ICE and the National Guard haven't made many friends, and if the response to that is, "it's not the president’s job to make friends,” then is it the President’s job to represent America on the global stage? Is it his job to make friends of our allies to make sure that they want to continue to be our ardent allies?

His rhetoric with trying to pressure the “sale” of Greenland, and not rule out military force, as well as his condescension towards our long-time trusted ally, Canada, was irreverent and illogical. People have to want to be ruled by a person for that person to rule… or else it is tyranny. 

A Harvard poll in May found that 62% of voters (the highest number so far) supported the U.S. continuing to supply Ukraine with weapons, and an Emerson College poll showed 65% of independents did not support Trump’s position or choices on Ukraine.

Then there was the Signal Chat leaks, where the president’s top cabinet members texted each other classified war plans (and the name of a U.S. spy) back and forth to each other and used emojis to celebrate death.

With DOGE and Elon Musk, President Trump campaigned for reducing federal spending, and then introduced a $1.01 trillion military budget, increasing it by $150 billion from the previous year. Then, while the “Big, Beautiful, Bill" saw tax cuts across much of the board for all Americans, even tax cuts for tanning beds…. Except for the poorest 47 million. They will pay more taxes with the bill, and economists say it will add trillions to the deficit – a deficit (and debt) that he campaigned to be rid of. However, in his first, and so far second, terms, he has only increased federal spending while also cutting taxes.

That math doesn't add up.

One of the things my conservative father lectured me on often was not spending more than I have, yet President Trump has, in both terms, spent more money than is coming in, as well as reduced the income the government generated through taxes. I'm not here celebrating taxes, mind you, but the math doesn't add up, and neither has President Trump’s rapidly declining poll ratings.

And finally, President Trump promised again and again to get America out of the Middle East, and out of the wars of other nations to focus inwards, if you will. That was even part of his reasoning for not supporting Ukraine: to stop funding wars overseas. Israel attacks Iran, annnnnd…

Israel asked nicely if the U.S. could drop somewhere between six to fourteen “bunker buster" bombs on Iran for them, of the only twenty that the U.S. has produced since 2013 (as per The Wall Street Journal). Each bomb is worth four million dollars per boom (The Finnancial Times), and each bomber mission requires multiple mid-air refueling and air crew maintenance, which is simple enough to deduce is not cheap, nor can they be readily replaced if a war with China happens soon and they are needed. If the war in Ukraine has taught us anything, it’s that volume of fire is important in all regards: drones, patriot missiles, artillery rounds, and bodies to throw at the problem.

Such as with presidents of the past like George Bush and Iraq, this is all to wonder if this new Middle Eastern “conflict" is not a " diversionary war." A term in international relations in which a country’s ruler engages in or behind a conflict to distract the public at home and potentially drum up support.

Perhaps, it is a one-off and a “successful” mission, as per the president’s cabinet, that peace is just around the corner because of it. However, besides removing trans individuals from sports, I do not see any other campaign promises that were fulfilled – but instead defiled.

There is no peace, and the president didn’t “keep us out of foreign conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.” We bombed Iran at Israel's behest.

He has not, in fact, reduced spending, and only increased it, to the direct detriment of the poorest 47 million citizens of the United States.

The signal chat leaks prove there is little to no transparency in his office, for that would require congressional oversight.

Plummeting ratings forewarned and foredoomed plummeting bombs.

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.