As an avid golfer and frequent traveler to the nation’s capital, I welcomed President Trump’s announcement Sunday that his administration will convert East Potomac Golf Links, a public course near the National Mall, into a championship-level venue for professional tournaments. As a voter, however, I wondered if the president had lost his cotton-picking mind.
A Fox News survey released four days before the Truth Social golf-course post put Mr. Trump’s job approval at a “record low 36%.” Three-fourths of respondents
As an avid golfer and frequent traveler to the nation’s capital, I welcomed President Trump’s announcement Sunday that his administration will convert East Potomac Golf Links, a public course near the National Mall, into a championship-level venue for professional tournaments. As a voter, however, I wondered if the president had lost his cotton-picking mind.
A Fox News survey released four days before the Truth Social golf-course post put Mr. Trump’s job approval at a “record low 36%.” Three-fourths of respondents rated the economy negatively, more than half expected it to worsen next year, and two-thirds said the country is headed in the wrong direction. Less than three weeks until the midterm elections, “disapproval of the job Trump is doing has reached 77% on inflation, 70% on the economy, 69% on tariffs and 64% on foreign policy,” according to Fox. The president responded by sharing his plans—complete with mock-ups—to redesign a golf course?
Whether Mr. Trump is clueless or shameless is something psychoanalysts can debate, but even MAGA die-hards and GOP allies in Congress have grown weary of his erratic behavior. Many Americans are hurting, and they include large chunks of Mr. Trump’s base, which re-elected him primarily to address cost-of-living concerns that worsened under President Biden.
Has he noticed that buying a car is more expensive thanks to tariffs on imported vehicles, auto parts, steel and aluminum? Has he noticed that higher mortgage interest rates have made it more difficult for young people to purchase their first home? Has no one informed him that prices for food, gas and other necessities not only remain steep but continue to outpace earnings?
What seems lost on the president surely isn’t lost on his voters, particularly those in farm country and rural areas who can connect the dots. Elevated energy costs are directly related to Russian aggression in Ukraine, which Mr. Trump repeatedly vowed to end within 24 hours of his inauguration, and to the war in Iran, which he started but so far lacks the determination to finish, while repeatedly claiming that we’ve already won.
What voters have received from the administration instead of empathy is constant blame-shifting, repeated calls for more patience, and mindless vanity projects. We have a president preoccupied with building a White House ballroom, erecting a triumphal arch near the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery, and affixing his name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Trump’s defense secretary announced the Pentagon would livestream a military execution by firing squad, and Mr. Trump initially endorsed the idea. Just for fun, the president posted a demented AI-generated video of himself mocking a mentally disturbed man who climbed into a tiger enclosure at a zoo and was mauled to death.
Republican strategists tell me that midterm elections are all about turning out your fiercest supporters, and that despite the president’s bizarre behavior of late, he remains popular with the base. That’s true, but it’s also true that the president’s base has shrunk and the White House is worried. The proof is where Mr. Trump has spent his time campaigning. He’s gone to places like Wasilla, Alaska; Mahoning County, Ohio; and Mohave County, Ariz. He wasn’t there to woo independents and swing voters. These are heavily Republican areas, and his objective was to rally the MAGA faithful because the White House fears they’ll stay home on Election Day.
Mr. Trump and his supporters dismiss negative polls as fake or unreliable, and pollsters haven’t helped themselves in recent elections with predictions that in some cases have been wildly off base. Whether the problem is driven by partisan leanings or an inability to get Trump voters to respond to surveys continues to be debated. But simply ignoring unfavorable results outright would be ill-advised.
It likewise would be premature to count out Mr. Trump, whose victory in 2016 and comeback eight years later defied the expectations of many people in the media who follow politics for a living. Republicans this year enjoy a financial advantage and a favorable political map. Most of the races that will decide who controls the Senate are being fought in states that Mr. Trump carried in 2024. Still, the president’s approval rating is lower than Joe Biden’s in 2022 or Barack Obama’s in 2010, when Democrats lost 63 seats. It’s also lower than Mr. Trump’s rating in 2018, when his party dropped 40 seats and Democrats took control of the House.
Oddly, Mr. Trump keeps asking people to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.” Democrats are already doing that. With respect to Republicans, Mr. President, be careful what you wish for.
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