Pollster Matt Towery said Friday on Fox News that despite Democrats’ efforts to push a “chaos” narrative against President Donald Trump, polls that accurately predicted the 2024 election show only a “minor” decline in his approval rating. In February, a CBS poll recorded Trump’s approval rating at 53%—the highest mark of his two terms. On The Ingraham Angle Friday, host Laura Ingraham asked Towery whether Democratic criticism of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs was resonating with voters.
“No, not right now. If you look at the polls that are out by pollsters who did well in the 24 and 20 elections, President Trump has had a minor decrease in his approval rating, but very minor, not significant,” Towery said. “When you look at the pollsters — like Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight like to go to and push — who were way off. Oh, well, their averages have him way down. The truth is Trump is not off very much right now. The message is not resonating.”
After Trump announced on April 2 that the U.S. would impose reciprocal tariffs on a range of countries, Democrats quickly pushed back, criticizing his trade policy. By Wednesday, Trump responded by announcing a 90-day pause on all tariffs—except those targeting China. Despite a rebound in the markets, Democrats like Sen. Amy Klobuchar insisted Thursday that “chaos is still up.” Towery noted that while some surveys, such as Quinnipiac, show a significant drop in Trump’s approval rating, he believes many Americans are more understanding of the president’s actions and the rationale behind them.
“I think they’ve been waiting, Laura, for a time period when they could say ‘He’s falling apart,’ and they could rush in with these legacy media polls. But you haven’t seen them because it’s not happening. I mean, Quinnipiac said he’s down 12 [points],” Towery said. “Look, they missed the race last time by a mile. So if we listen to who really got the race right and knows how to poll Trump, this is not a big deal,” Towery added. “The American people are more understanding of what Trump is doing than the Wall Street pundits.”
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed 41% of respondents approved of Trump’s job performance—down 12 points from the recent CBS high, but only one point lower than Quinnipiac’s March 13 survey. Meanwhile, a Rasmussen Reports poll released Friday placed Trump’s approval at 48%. A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll conducted March 26–27—just before the tariff announcement—showed Trump holding a 49% approval rating.