President Donald Trump’s grip on Republicans appears to be slipping. His handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, combined with a worsening cost-of-living crisis, has sent his approval rating tumbling to just 38 percent—marking the lowest point since his return to power.
Even within his core base, cracks are emerging. Trump’s popularity among Republicans, once considered untouchable, has dipped from 87 percent to 82 percent as his growing alienation from loyal supporters begins to show.
Polling from Ipsos/Reuters highlights a steady decline in the president’s favorability since January, dropping nine points from his 47 percent high and now hovering near Joe Biden’s all-time low of 35 percent.
The latest blow came after the Republican-controlled House and Senate voted Tuesday to release the Epstein files—a humiliating defeat for Trump. While the president, a convicted felon, has weathered scandals throughout his career, experts say his handling of the Epstein case is hitting his reputation in a way few controversies have.
Just 20 percent of Americans, including only 44 percent of Republicans, approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein situation. Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority—including 87 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans—believe the government is hiding information about Epstein’s “clients.”
For some Republican strategists, though, the Epstein scandal is secondary to economic concerns. Doug Heye told Reuters, “It’s all about prices. People are furious when they go out and spend money at the grocery store, and they can’t believe what they are spending.”
And the numbers support his point. Only 26 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s management of living expenses, down from 29 percent earlier this month. Meanwhile, 65 percent—including one in three Republicans—disapprove of his handling of the cost-of-living crisis, which has fueled record-high inflation.
Trump’s struggles extend beyond policy missteps. His messy breakup with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over the Epstein files, along with his failure to pressure Republicans in Indiana to gerrymander key districts, has highlighted cracks in his political machine.
“There’s an unprecedented split in Donald Trump’s base,” former California GOP political director Mike Madrid told WSJ. “It’s a sign that even Donald Trump is not immune to the physics of politics, which is that a lame-duck leader is going to start to see people abandon him.”
Trump’s lowest approval rating across both terms came in December 2017, when it dropped to a historic low of 33 percent. Now, with Epstein fallout and economic pressures converging, the president faces another historic low—and a base that may not remain loyal forever.
