Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz — a West Charlotte High and UNC grad — is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription
President Donald Trump is starting 2026 with a shift in an unlikely corner of the electorate: Americans living in the nation’s largest cities.
A new Fox News poll—conducted January 23-26 under the joint direction of Democratic pollster Beacon Research and Republican pollster Shaw & Company Research among 1,005 registered voters nationwide—found the president’s job approvalrising modestly among urban residents, a group that has been one of his weakest since he returned to office.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email outside regular business hours.
Trump gained ground with urban voters in the late-January Fox News poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, as approval in cities rose to 40 percent from 34 percent in December, while disapproval fell to 60 percent from 66 percent, according to the Fox News survey’s cross-tabs and top lines.
Fox News’ end-of-year poll of 1,001 registered voters, conducted December 12-15 by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company, also had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Both polls selected respondents randomly from a national voter file. Interviews were completed through a mix of landlines, cellphones and online survey links texted to a subset of voters.
Although it is hardly friendly territory for the Republican president, this latest shift in how urban voters approve of how he is doing his job represents a meaningful movement.
A president who improves from 34 percent to about 40 percent in American cities does not suddenly become competitive in these largely Democratic strongholds, but he becomes harder to defeat statewide.
Urban softening can also bleed into adjacent suburbs, where political margins are often decisive.
This month-over-month shift among urban voters came as Trump’s overall approval held at 44 percent nationally in the same Fox News series, underscoring movement inside a key geographic subgroup even as the top line stayed flat.
Urban voters are one of the core subgroups tracked by Fox News in its national polling, which reports results by area—urban, suburban and rural—when subgroup sample sizes reach at least 100 respondents.
Because these area categories are weighted alongside age, race, education and region to reflect the registered voter population, shifts within urban areas can influence the overall approval picture.
In plain terms: Within a month, more city-dwelling registered voters told Fox News they approved of Trump’s job performance, and fewer said they disapproved.
Even with that improvement, however, most urban respondents still gave the president negative marks.
While Trump is still underwater by a wide margin, a six‑point increase inside such strongly Democratic territory signals that voter attitudes in the country’s biggest population centers may be shifting in tone, if not allegiance.
Urban voters matter because they anchor Democratic strength.
When they budge, even slightly, it often suggests that broader perceptions of presidential performance are settling in—especially among groups that have been highly resistant to Trump since his return to office.
What People Are Saying
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson, said: “The president faces two difficult obstacles—the virtually unanimous and intractable opposition of Democrats and the stubbornness of high prices. Republican officeholders think the economic benefits of the One Big Beautiful Bill will kick in later this year, which will be critical for GOP prospects in the midterm elections.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Newsweek in December: “Over the past year, the Trump administration has delivered critical progress to turn the page on Joe Biden’s economic disaster: cooling inflation, rising real wages, private-sector job growth, and trillions in investments to make and hire in America. The Trump administration will continue to build on this progress in the new year to continue delivering economic relief for the American people.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on January 22: “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense. … Something has to be done about Fraudulent Polling.”
He added: “Isn’t it sad what has happened to American Journalism, but I am going to do everything possible to keep this Polling SCAM from moving forward!”
What Happens Next
The question now is whether Trump can build on this movement, or whether it represents a temporary fluctuation within a group that historically has little affinity for him.
Because both Fox News surveys used identical methods and margins of error, the December‑to‑January comparison is significant. But subgroup margins are always higher, which means future polls must confirm whether Trump truly is gaining ground among city‑based voters or whether these numbers plateau.
Still, if the trend holds—even modestly—it could matter in tightly contested states where major metro areas dominate the vote count.
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it’s not “both sides,” it’s sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
A new poll finds Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s approval rating has dropped from his all-time high of 64% down to 52%.
Gov. Wes Moore can use all the support he can get as he tries to push through his legislative agenda with the Maryland General Assembly getting back to work Wednesday.
A new poll found Moore’s approval rating has dropped from his all-time high of 64% down to 52%.
The poll, conducted by Patrick Gonzales of Gonzales Research and Media, found 52% of voters approve of the job Moore is doing as governor, 41% disapprove and 7% offer no opinion.
Gonzales said despite the converging of the approve and disapprove lines, Moore remains in a strong position.
“This is Maryland,” Gonzales told WTOP. “A Democrat at 52% approval on election day is not going to lose.”
The poll found that if the election was held today, 50% of Marylanders would vote to reelect Moore, 28% said they would vote for a Republican challenger, 6% opt for a third-party candidate and 16% were undecided.
Gonzales said on the reelection question and most of the four questions posed in the poll, partisanship predictably defined the contest.
Democrats heavily back Moore, and 76% said they would vote to reelect him with just 2% crossing over for a GOP challenger. Republicans show the mirror image with 81% throwing their support behind the party’s nominee, and just 6% saying they would go with Moore.
According to the poll, 47% think the state is moving in the right direction, while 44% believe that the state is headed the wrong way.
Gonzales called that “a narrow, uneasy balance that signals neither broad confidence nor outright pessimism.”
The final question of the poll asked people about taxes.
“A clear majority – 58%, say that they and their family pay too much in taxes, while virtually no one thinks they pay too little in taxes, with 41% of Marylanders believing their tax burden is about right,” Gonzales said.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 21, 2025, through Jan. 6. A total of 808 registered voters in Maryland, who indicated they are likely to vote in the 2026 general election, were queried by live telephone interviews. The margin of error is a range of plus or minus 3.5% points.
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TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The Japanese public now sees China’s growing military power as the country’s leading security concern, overtaking the threat posed by North Korean nuclear missiles, a government survey released on Friday showed.
In the survey 68% of 1,534 respondents pointed to advances in Chinese military technology and its activities close to Japan and in the South China Sea as their top security worry, up from 61% when the poll was last conducted three years ago.
The five-week survey began on November 6, a day before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked the worst diplomatic dispute with Beijing in more than a decade by saying that Tokyo could deploy its forces if a Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan was deemed an existential threat to Japan.
China has demanded she retract her remarks, warned its citizens against travelling to Japan and threatened to restrict exports of rare earths, a key component in industrial supply chains. Beijing has also conducted military drills near Japan and, last week, held war games around Taiwan involving missiles, warships and aircraft.
The survey also showed support for Japan’s military at an all-time high, with 94% of respondents saying they had a favourable opinion of the Self-Defense Forces.
The poll comes as Takaichi’s government prepares to formulate its next defence plan, which is expected to further increase funds for defence.
Under its U.S.-drafted post-war constitution, Japan renounced the right to wage war, but it remains one of the world’s biggest military spenders. It is doubling defence outlays to 2% of GDP to deter China from using force to pursue its territorial ambitions in East Asia.
Beijing has accused Japan of stoking regional tensions with its military plans and has warned Tokyo of a “crushing” defeat if it were to intervene over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
As of January 6, Decision Desk HQ’s national average places approval at 43.2 percent and disapproval at 53.3 percent, while Ballotpedia’s index shows a similar split of 42 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval.
At the time of writing, VoteHub’s live tracker reported that 42.5 percent approved and 53.9 percent disapproved, reinforcing the consensus that disapproval still exceeded approval by double digits.
Still, this represents a slight improvement from November’s lows near 41 percent. The shift is incremental rather than dramatic, leaving the president with a persistent net-negative rating.
Decision Desk HQ’s polling tracker combines all credible public polls that meet the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s standards into an average, focusing on recent data, limiting the impact of campaign-funded polls and smoothing trends as more polls come in to give a clearer picture of public opinion.
Similarly, Ballotpedia’s index averages the latest polls from trusted national sources over the past 30 days to give an up-to-date picture of public opinion, updating daily as new results come in.
VoteHub, meanwhile, averages recent polls from reputable pollsters, giving more weight to newer polls, to provide a clear and simple snapshot of public opinion.
What People Are Saying
Scott Tranter, the director of data science at Decision Desk HQ, told The Hill: “Roughly a year in, he’s right in the middle. He’s right where, basically, he’s been all year, which is unremarkable. It’s remarkable because it’s unremarkable.”
InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery said in a December analysis: “Interestingly, our recent job performance surveys have shown the number of undecided respondents at an unusually high number. This tells us that some voters, particularly independents, remain unsure as to his accomplishments so far. This suggests he has work to do as he and the GOP enter the midterm season.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Newsweek last month: “President Trump and every member of his administration are clear-eyed about the fact that Americans continue to reel from the lingering effects of Joe Biden’s generational economic crisis.
“Turning the Biden economic disaster around has informed nearly every action the Trump administration has taken since Day One, from unleashing American energy to cut gas prices to signing historic drug pricing deals to cut costs for American patients.
“Much work remains, and every member of the Trump administration continues to focus on recreating the historic job, wage, and economic growth that Americans enjoyed during President Trump’s first term.”
Desai also previously told Newsweek: “President Trump inherited the worst inflation crisis in a generation from Joe Biden’s incompetence, and his administration has rapidly cooled inflation to a 2.5 percent annualized rate. Americans can count on inflation continuing to fall and real wages continuing to rise.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in December: “The polls are rigged even more than the writers. The real number is 64 percent, and why not, our Country is ‘hotter’ than ever before. Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, No Inflation, a powerful Military, and great Economy??? Happy New Year!”
Polls show persistent concern among Americans about both economic and foreign policy developments, with majorities worried about prices, affordability and the U.S.’s role overseas. The administration’s policy decisions—both domestic and international—and the country’s day-to-day economic experiences are expected to be decisive in shaping public opinion and influencing the 2026 midterms.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating remains steadily underwater among adults as he nears the end of his first year back in the White House, and he has lost some ground among his “Make America Great Again” base, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
Trump’s approval has inched down in 2025 amid concern about the economy, while Americans remain worried about inflation and costs after Trump’s campaign promises to ease those anxieties. Respondents’ concerns were apparent in everyday spending decisions like grocery shopping, holiday spending and more, the poll shows.
Other high-profile Trump decisions, including his handling of the controversy over the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files, have scored negatively with Americans. Trump initially opposed a congressional move to force the release of the files before relenting to pressure from both parties last month.
Overall, the poll underlines how the intense support that Trump rode to a second presidential term has weakened — and how the intensity of the opposition to him has grown.
American adults largely disapprove of Trump’s job performance, with his approval rating at 42% and disapproval at 58% in the new poll. That’s a slight approval rating drop of 3 points (from 45%) over the course of four polls since April, the first time the survey was conducted. The new poll surveyed 20,252 adults, including people registered to vote and not registered to vote, online from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
But underneath this modest decrease in approval are more subtle shifts in the intensity of feelings about the president — both positive and negative.
The share of people who strongly approve of Trump (21%) has dropped over the course of the year (26% in April). Slightly more people now say they strongly disapprove of Trump (44%) compared to April (42%).
MAGA not as ‘strong’ for Trump
Two groups show the largest drop in strong support for the president since April: those who identify as Republican, and, in particular, those who identify with Trump’s MAGA movement.
Among the Republicans who consider themselves more supporters of the Republican Party than the MAGA movement, the share of those who “strongly approve” of Trump now stands at 35%, compared to 38% in April.
Trump’s strong approval is higher among those who consider themselves MAGA Republicans: 70%. But that represents a drop of 8 points (from 78%) since April.
And while 7 in 10 MAGA supporters still say they “strongly approve” of the president’s job performance, fewer Republicans report being part of the MAGA movement compared to earlier this year.
In April, a majority of Republicans reported identifying with the MAGA movement. In this survey, Republicans are evenly split on whether they identify more as “traditional” Republicans or as MAGA movement members.
Although small, these shifts are notable because Trump has enjoyed tremendous sway over his party in no small part because of his ability to command a core base of support. But in recent months, fractures have emerged.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a stalwart of Trump’s MAGA movement, broke publicly with the president and his administration over a number of issues, including what the Georgia Republican saw as a misplaced focus on foreign affairs over domestic policy. Greene has said she identifies now as “America First,” rather than MAGA, and is resigning from Congress early next year.
Meanwhile, elections in November saw Democrats dominate on a message of affordability, underscoring the challenges Republicans may face going into next year’s midterm elections, as allies of the president urge him to do more to speak to economic concerns.
Concerns about the economy and finances
The economy remains the most important issue to Americans right now, and persistent inflation remains a sore spot, even among the president’s supporters, according to the survey.
Those who identify as Republican, including MAGA Republicans, are shifting perspectives slightly when it comes to the economy.
Compared to the last NBC News Decision Desk poll, in August, both groups were a few percentage points more likely to say their personal finances are worse today compared to one year ago. Those groups were also 6 points more likely to say the country is on the wrong track.
Overall, 64% of Americans overall think the country is on the wrong track, up from 60% in the beginning of the year.
That finding holds across most groups, but the groups shifting their views in a negative direction may also be among the most consequential in next year’s midterm elections: people who voted for Trump in 2024, people with a high school education or less, people who are 65 and over (especially older women), and Black and Hispanic Americans.
Different economic priorities by income
While the majority of Americans express concerns about the overall state of the economy, the top and bottom of the income distribution are not experiencing the same levels of worry — or showing their worry in the same way.
Overall, 41% said that their personal financial situation is about the same as it was a year ago. Another 35% said it’s worse today and 24% said it’s better.
However, 45% of those making less than $50,000 said their finances are worse today, compared to only a quarter of those who make over $100,000.
Similarly, while 31% of the highest earners reported being in a better financial position than a year ago, only 16% of the lowest earners said they’re better off today.
Americans with incomes under $50,000 cited the cost of housing and food as the biggest economic problems facing them and their families. The cost of health insurance and planning for retirement, meanwhile, were the biggest economic problems picked by those making over $100,000.
As a result of recent economic conditions, a majority of Americans reported needing to change what groceries they buy in order to stay within their budget, and a majority also said they had personally cut back spending on extras and entertainment to afford necessities.
Those with incomes under $50,000 were more likely — by double digits — to say they’ve cut back on groceries, extras and entertainment, and even holiday spending, compared to those with incomes over $100,000.
And while 69% of higher earners said they are personally affected by what happens in the stock market, 58% of lower earners said the stock market doesn’t affect them much or at all.
Over half of all Americans (53%) said they trust the Democratic Party over the Republican Party (47%) when it comes to handling the rising price of everyday things. The majority opinion on that question is consistent across traditionally Democratic groups whose turnout will be critical to the party’s prospects in the 2026 elections: African Americans (77%), women (61%), Latinos (60%), young people (59%) and independents (55%).
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 20,252 adults online from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Anyone who has paid close attention to Donald Trump’s utterances over the years is acutely aware of his black-and-white perspective on America’s history and its current trajectory. It’s a tale of incredible heroism matched by incredible villainy with Trump representing the summit of national achievement and his opponents and detractors motivated strictly by malice, dishonesty, and even treason. There is no nuance in his publicly expressed worldview, no room for honest disagreement. And up until recently, there has been no doubt that the 47th president believes he is the true champion of the values and interests of the overwhelming majority of the American people, who have (in his estimation) lifted him to supreme power three times now by ever-increasing margins that reached epic, unprecedented levels in 2024.
And that’s why it’s startling to see a new note of anger toward those same American people emanate from his soapbox at Truth Social:
Assuming Trump believes half of what he says, this aggrieved astonishment makes some sense. Throughout the 2024 campaign, he regularly depicted the Biden administration as utterly depraved and consciously evil — a nation-destroying enterprise with not a bit of redeeming value, having wrecked the living paradise Trump was busily building during his first term. The 47th president fully resumed and even accelerated his American-greatness project in 2025 and is already so satisfied with his success that he is devoting a great deal of time to building monuments to himself and demanding global recognition of all he has done. Yet instead of being able to bask in his accomplishments and glory in his plans, he’s being told by the political experts in his orbit that the people aren’t happy. Indeed, even as he claims that in one year the country has gone from Weimar levels of hyperinflation to a dizzying climb in real wages and living standards, he’s being pushed out on the road to exhibit concerns about affordability, a term he has mocked and repeatedly called a hoax.
It’s not just the White House political staff who are worried. Off-year elections are regularly showing troubling signs for Trump’s party. The lockstep machinery in Congress that gave the president his One Big Beautiful Act is showing some wear and tear. The U.S. Supreme Court majority he helped forge is reportedly poised to deny him the beloved tariff powers that stand at the very center of both his economic policies and his foreign-relations strategy. Worse yet, Trump seems to fear, the people themselves have turned on him. Don’t they get it? Don’t they “understand what is happening”?
The president’s growing dismay over the ingratitude of the American people may help explain his determination to insulate his party from public opinion via an unprecedented wave of pre-midterm gerrymandering of congressional seats. If so, you can imagine the level of fury he must feel toward the Republican members of the Indiana state senate who just thwarted his demands for a new map giving Republicans a monopoly on representation in the U.S. House. He personally met with and spoke to many of these people. He sent J.D. Vance to lobby and threaten them some more. His allies in MAGA-land joined the Hoosier pressure campaign, some of them going over the brink into threats of violence and others treating the gerrymander as a necessary tribute to the late Charlie Kirk. Yet they defied the man who has already restored American greatness, distracting him from his divinely blessed work. How dare they!
Your normal politician experiencing the sort of setbacks Trump has recently encountered would privately complain, maybe cry in a beer or two, and then buckle down to the work of restoring public trust and improving the poll numbers (which Trump regularly denounces as “fake” but seems to follow closely). It’s unclear if he has that in his makeup. A successful presidency is not an aspiration for him; it’s an accomplishment worth celebrating with some extra gilding of the White House and a few more international peace prizes. In reality, every second-term president loses some altitude as lame-duck status sinks in — the wise chief executives give their underlings some slack to distance themselves from the incumbent and prepare the way for a succession. But Trump isn’t just a president; he’s the leader of a movement that has remade American politics and saved a country headed straight to hell. So the MAGA prescription for the GOP in the remaining three years of the Trump presidency is to hew ever more closely to his wishes and stand proudly in his enormous shadow.
If his current grumpiness about public opinion persists or even intensifies, Trump would not be the first leader to be undone by the sense that his country didn’t deserve him. It is, in fact, an occupational hazard for those who view themselves as world-historical figures instead of mere elected officials with limited horizons, operating within constitutional boundaries. Given his famous unmanageability, it may be vain for Trump’s advisers to urge him to admit some shortcomings in his policies and show some empathy for those who believe they are suffering in this greatest of all moments in U.S. history. It’s going to be a long three years if he simply cannot adjust to adverse public opinion and grows contemptuous of the people whose adulation he believes he has earned.
Eight years ago this month, Trump’s White House published its first national-security strategy, a document that extolled NATO’s enduring value as “one of our great advantages over our competitors,” and praised America’s allies as, in the words of one of the strategy’s principal authors, the then national-security adviser H. R. McMaster, “the best defense against today’s threats.” Its most famous passage declared a new era of “great power competition” and warned that China and Russia posed grave long-term dangers to the United States. I cannot count the number of times I had this document quoted to me by Republican establishment types eager to prove that Trump really was a Reagan-esque tough-on-Russia guy, after all.
His new national-security doctrine, released late last week, has abandoned the language about great-power threats from China and Russia in favor of a reduced role for America as the unchallenged hegemon of the Western hemisphere. To the extent that a global theory of the case is expressed, it is a Darwinian vision of geopolitical might makes right: “The outsized influence of larger, richer, and stronger nations,” the document stresses, “is a timeless truth of international relations.” The thirty-three-page paean to the leadership of “The President of Peace” also calls for an end to NATO expansion, treats Russia as an equal to Europe (without mentioning its responsibility for launching a war of aggression against Ukraine), and essentially promotes regime change—for America’s European allies. (In the language of the strategy: “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”) The plan, not surprisingly, was well received by the Kremlin, where Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, praised the adjustments to U.S. strategy as “largely consistent with our vision.”
However much Trump was personally involved in shaping these national-security documents, there’s little doubt that the 2025 version sounds a lot more like the man himself than the 2017 iteration. Back then, Trump’s real views about the world—a profoundly disruptive departure from decades of Republican foreign policy—were, like his “shithole countries” comment, still meant only for private consumption. Now he’s loud and proud about them.
The most important point here is that Trump’s second term—the “Do-Over Presidency,” I called it a few months ago—is an exercise in Presidential wish fulfillment. This time, he is not about to let persnickety lawyers, or his own past record, stand in the way. Think of the long list of extreme policies that Trump talked about in his first term but has only followed through on in this one: ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, imposing sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners by declaring a national “emergency,”sending troops into Democratic-run cities to quell domestic political protests.
All three of these policies, it should be noted, are currently subject to lawsuits in the federal courts—a major reason that Trump’s first-term advisers warned him against pursuing them. But he did not get rid of the policies; he ditched the advisers. Unconstrained and emboldened, today’s Trump has learned from years of experience how to make the machinery of Washington give him what he wants, whether it is legal or not. He is, at last, the “Jurassic Park” velociraptor that figures out how to open the door, in the memorable image once evoked for me by a national-security official from Trump’s first term.
Some of the difference between Trump 1.0 and 2.0, as in the rally the other night, is in the presentation. While he’s always been lewd and rude, a liar and an extemporizer whose public shows are designed to shock and entertain, his tongue has clearly been loosened by advancing age and the adoring bubble of sycophants in which he now exists. Having dispensed entirely with the dreary rituals of acting Presidential, Trump now talks in public the way he does in private—swearing, rambling, sexist, racist. It wasn’t just the rant about Somali immigrants, or the extreme length of his speech. ( Ninety-seven minutes, compared with an average of forty-five minutes at rallies in 2016.) Or the cringe-y digression about“that beautiful face and the lips that don’t stop, pop, pop, pop, like a machine gun” of his young female press secretary. And the cursing—where to begin? There’s just so much of it. Is that because he’s eight years older and no longer bound by his old inhibitions? Or maybe he’s just really angry that his poll numbers have sunk so low?
If that’s the case, we can expect a whole lot more expletives, because Trump, untethered, is now by many measures more unpopular than ever before. In his first term, the President was already a polarizing and historically unpopular figure, but he had a strong economy going for him—even if it was never “the greatest economy in the history of the world” that he so often proclaimed it to be. This time, with persistent inflation, fears of impending recession, and global jitters about his preference for market-crushing tariffs, support for Trump’s economic policies has fallen even lower than backing for the man himself. On Thursday, the Associated Press and NORC released a new survey showing him with his worst numbers of the year—with just thirty-six per cent approving of his job performance and thirty-one per cent supporting what he’s done for the economy, his lowest showing in either of his two terms. Gallup, in a similar recent survey, found that sixty per cent of Americans now disapprove of his second-term job performance. The electorate, it turns out, has a few choice words for Trump, too. ♦
Is President Donald Trump more popular than ever? He says so.
“I have just gotten the highest poll numbers of my ‘political career,’” he said in a Nov. 22 Truth Social post.
Trump’s assertion is inaccurate: Publicly available polling data shows his approval rating at or near its all-time low, not its all-time high.
The White House did not respond to an inquiry for this article.
Poll aggregators all show Trump at a weak point
Polling analysts say the best way to get a snapshot of survey results is to look at aggregations — collections of publicly released polls that average the most recent. A single poll might be an outlier, but averages of all polls decrease the influence of outlier polls.
Aggregators’ methods differ, but generally they give the greatest weight to the most recent polls. Many also give greater weight to polls with more accurate track records, and some exclude polls that do not provide sufficient transparency about their methodology.
Every one of these poll aggregators show Trump’s approval rating has tumbled since the beginning of his second term in January, mirrored by a steady rise in his disapproval rating.
Each of the poll aggregators show Trump’s approval rating in positive territory in January, flipping to even approval-disapproval ratings sometime in March. Since then, his disapproval ratings have exceeded approvals by generally increasing amounts.
Decision Desk HQ (screenshot reprinted with permission)
Among the seven aggregators publishing since January, Trump’s January approval averaged 54.2% and disapproval 40.8%. By Nov. 24, that flipped. Among the seven aggregators, Trump’s average approval is currently 41.5% and his average disapproval is 56%.
“The high point of his polling was at the beginning of his second term,” Geoffrey Skelley, chief elections analyst for Decision Desk HQ, told PolitiFact.
Trump’s approval and disapproval ratings are currently broadly similar to this point in his first term. In late November 2017, his ratings in the RealClearPolitics aggregation — the only one with public data from both of Trump’s terms — were 39.2% approve and 56.2% disapprove. Today, they are 42.7% approve and 55.9% disapprove.
Trump’s approval ratings are also close to the worst point of his first term, which came in mid-December 2017. Back then, according to RealClearPolitics’ average, Trump had 37.2% approval and 58% disapproval.
Trump’s polling on specific issues such as the economy, inflation, immigration and trade mirror declines in his overall approval ratings, according to Silver Bulletin.
Just because Trump’s polling is at a low point today doesn’t mean it can’t rebound, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“Trump has often shown an ability to bounce back from poor approval polling, like water finding its level,” Kondik said. “So don’t be surprised if he rebounds again — not to positive approval, but perhaps to more like 45% instead of 40%.”
Our ruling
Trump wrote, “I have just gotten the highest poll numbers of my ‘political career.’”
The opposite is true: Eight poll aggregators show Trump had his strongest approval ratings, and his smallest disapproval ratings, in January, at the beginning of his second term. Since then, his approval ratings — both overall and for specific issue areas — have gone consistently downhill.
Trump’s current approval and disapproval ratings are the worst of his second term and within a few percentage points of his weakest first-term showing.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroomHarris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.”I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.”Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.”You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.”There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.
Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroom
Harris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.
“I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.
Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.
“Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.
Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”
Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”
The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.
“You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”
Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.
“There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroomHarris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.”I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.”Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.”You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.”There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.
Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroom
Harris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.
“I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.
Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.
“Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.
Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”
Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”
The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.
“You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”
Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.
“There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Most Americans – including 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans – think the U.S. should recognize Palestinian statehood, a sign that President Donald Trump’s opposition to doing so is out of step with public opinion, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, found 59% of respondents backed U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state, while 33% were opposed and the rest were unsure or did not answer the question.
About half of Trump’s Republicans – 53% – opposed doing so, while 41% of Republicans said they would support the U.S. recognizing a Palestinian state.
A growing number of countries – including U.S. allies Britain, Canada, France and Australia – have formally recognized Palestinian statehood in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from Israel, whose founding in 1948 led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and decades of conflict.
Israeli bombardments have leveled vast swaths of Palestinian neighborhoods in Gaza following an October 2023 surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel.
Some 60% of poll respondents said Israel’s response in Gaza was excessive, compared to 32% who disagreed.
Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has largely backed Israel in the war and this month brokered a ceasefire, raising hopes that lasting peace could be in reach.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gave signs the U.S. public was ready to give Trump credit should his plan work. Some 51% of poll respondents agreed with a statement that Trump “deserves significant credit” if peace efforts are successful, compared with 42% who disagreed.
While only one in 20 Democrats approve of Trump’s overall performance as president, one in four said he should get significant credit if the peace holds.
Success on that front appears far from certain. An explosion of violence over the weekend threatened to derail the week-old truce and U.S. diplomats stepped up pressure on Israel and Hamas to get Trump’s plan back on track.
Key questions of Hamas disarming, further Israeli troop pullbacks and future governance of the Palestinian enclave remain unresolved.
Trump’s approval rating on foreign policy appeared to be on a modest upswing, rising to 38% in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared to 33% in a poll conducted earlier this month just ahead of the ceasefire deal. The latest rating was Trump’s highest since July.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered responses from 4,385 people nationwide. It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Scott Malone and Nia Williams)
Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, is preparing to launch a challenge to longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins in what is likely to become one of the most closely watched races of the midterms, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with her plans.
“Primaries are an important part of the democratic process because they give voters a real choice for our future. Since launching the campaign, we’ve organized more than 30 events across the state and voters consistently tell me they want an open and vibrant primary process. With so much at stake, Mainers want to decide which candidate can defeat Susan Collins, defend our democracy from Donald Trump, and deliver for working families,” he said.
Newsweek reached out to spokespersons for Collins, Mills and other Senate candidates for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Maine generally leans Democratic, having backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by about seven points last November, but Collins has handily won reelection in the past due to her more moderate policy positions and close ties to the state. Democrats, however, believe 2026 has the potential to be her closest race yet as President Donald Trump’s approval slips nationwide, and as he remains unpopular in the Pine Tree State.
National Democrats view Mills, who has also won by wide margins in her two gubernatorial races, as a top recruit for the race. But others are less sold on the idea of her candidacy, believing that other Democrats already in the race such as Graham Platner, whose campaign has garnered nationwide attention, could make for a stronger candidate.
What To Know
Maine is likely a must-win for Democrats hoping to reclaim control of the Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority. Collins is the only Republican in a Harris-won state up for reelection. Democrats also view an open race in battleground North Carolina as a prime pickup opportunity, but other potential flips would require them to win more conservative territory.
Mills will bring high name recognition into the race, as voters are already familiar with her from her stint as attorney general and governor. She flipped the governor’s office in 2020, winning by about seven points, and won reelection in 2022 by nearly 13 points against former Governor Paul LePage. She is unable to run for reelection due to term limits.
But she may face a competitive primary against Platner, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban and Wood, the former President of End Citizens United, all of whom have already announced their campaigns.
Polling on the Senate race remains limited despite its importance for the midterms.
Polls have generally found that Mills enjoys stronger approval than Collins.
A University of New Hampshire poll from over the summer found that 14 percent of Mainers view Collins favorably, while 57 percent view her unfavorably. An additional 26 percent were neutral. Meanwhile, 51 percent of Mainers view Mills favorably and 41 percent unfavorably. Only 7 percent were neutral on Mills, according to the survey, which surveyed 846 Mainers between June 19 and June 23. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
A Pan Atlantic Research poll yielded better results for Collins, finding that 49 percent of Mainers view her favorably and 45 percent view her unfavorable. It found that 52 percent of respondents viewed Mills favorably, while 44 percent viewed her unfavorably. It surveyed 840 likely voters from May 12 to May 26, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Morning Consult found earlier this year that Mills had a net approval rating of +2—making her the least popular Democratic governor in the country—though Collins’ approval was -16. That poll took place from April to June of this year, and the sample sizes varied by state.
Polls in 2020 were notably off in Maine. Although surveys showed former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon with a lead, Collins ended up prevailing with just over 50 percent of the vote.
Mills, viewed as a more centrist Democrat, engaged in a high-profile debate with the White House over Trump’s efforts to deny states funding over transgender athletes, telling him “We’ll see you in court.”
What People Are Saying
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, wrote on X Thursday: “Graham Platner is a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins. It’s disappointing that some Democratic leaders are urging Governor Mills to run. We need to focus on winning that seat & not waste millions on an unnecessary & divisive primary.”
Pollster Adam Carlson wrote on X in August: “Sometimes to take out a modern political anomaly like Susan Collins, you need to try something different Janet Mills has been a good governor, but she’s 77, not especially popular, and has been in politics since 1980 Graham’s background might be unusual, but he’s got the juice.”
Commentator Russel Drew wrote on X on Friday: “We need to see some new, legit polling about #MESEN. The oyster farmer is absolutely an interesting candidate, but Gov. Mills has already won statewide twice. F*** our feelings. Let’s see the data.”
Anna Palmer, CEO of Punchbowl News, said during The Daily Punch podcast: “This is a huge get for Senat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is on a recruiting tear. But Mills will have to contend with a crowded field of Democratic challengers who didn’t wait to jump in while she made up her mind. This is something that Democrats have been waiting for, and it seemed like she was taking her sweet time to get into the race, and now it is finally here. This could potentially be a problem for Susan Collins.”
What Happens Next?
Mills and other candidates will spend the coming months making their cases to voters about why they are the best candidate to challenge Collins in the Senate race. Forecasters give Collins an edge—both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball classify the race as leaning Republican.
A recent Wall Street Journal-NORC poll of adults in the U.S. revealed widespread sour economic sentiments, with just 31% indicating that they think the American dream — that a person can get ahead by working hard — remains true.
A whopping 46% indicated that they believed it previously held true but no longer does, while 23% indicated that the idea of the American dream never held true. The nearly 70% of individuals taking those views marks the greatest level in nearly 15 years of polls, according to the Journal.
The survey of adults conducted between July 10-23, 2025 has an “overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.39 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, including the design effect,” the study methodology section of the survey notes.
A Victorian-style house with flag in St. Michaels, a historic town in Maryland, situated on Chesapeake Bay( Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Many people are concerned about the cost of groceries, with 28% extremely concerned about food prices, 28% very concerned, and 30% somewhat concerned, while just 10% were not very concerned and just 4% had no concern about the issue.
While 66% in the survey indicated that they have shifted to cheaper products to cut grocery store costs in the last year, just 33% indicated that they have not done so.
A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a 9/11 memorial at Mt. Mitchill on March 30, 2017, in Atlantic Highlands, N.J. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Only a quarter of those surveyed agreed that people like them and their family have a good shot of increasing their standard of living — just 6% strongly agreed, while 19% somewhat agreed, 23% strongly disagreed and 19% somewhat disagreed, and 32% did not agree or disagree. The 25% statistic of those indicating they have a good chance of bettering their living standard marked a record low for polls dating to 1987, the Journal reported.
A large majority of those surveyed indicated that, in comparison to their parents’ generation, it has become more difficult to purchase a home.
While 58% indicated that it is now much harder to buy a home, 23% felt that it is a little more difficult, 2% thought it is much easier, 5% felt it is a bit easier, and 11% did not see any difference in home-buying difficulty.
With public support of his immigration andeconomic policies flailing, President Donald Trump thinks he has found a winning issue: crime. During a recent Cabinet meeting, the president referred to crime as a “big subject of the midterms,” adding that he thinks it will “be a big subject of the next election,” according to CNN. “Republicans are going to do really well.”
In the past month, the president has instituted a federal takeover of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, deployed the National Guard to deal with the city’s “crime emergency,” and signed an executive order aimed at restricting the use of cashless bail nationwide. Trump has also threatened similar military deployments in other U.S. cities, which could stand on shaky legal ground.
Despite this, the president thinks his tough-on-crime approach is a winning strategy. A new Associated Press-NORC poll suggests that the president might not be wrong. According to the poll, 53 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of crime. However, an overwhelming majority of respondents (81 percent) view crime as a “major problem” in America’s large cities, while 66 percent view it as a “major problem” nationwide.
Support for using the military in domestic law enforcement is divided along partisan lines. While 82 percent of Republicans, and 55 percent of respondents overall, consider it “completely or somewhat acceptable” for the military and National Guard to assist local police, only 46 percent of Independents and 30 percent of Democrats share this view. Republicans are also more likely to approve of the federal government assuming control of local police departments in large cities, with 51 percent finding it acceptable. Democrats (15 percent) and Independents (26 percent), on the other hand, largely oppose the federal government dispatching troops to large cities.
However, only 32 percent of respondents overall supported the federal government taking control of local police departments in major cities, as the president has done in Washington, D.C.
Notably, crime is one of the only major issues that skews in favor of Trump. With a 5-point increase from the July A.P.-NORC poll, the president currently has a 45 percent job approval rating; however, 54 percent of respondents disapprove of his handling of the economy and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while 53 percent disapprove of his handling of immigration.
That’s in line with other recent surveys. A poll released by Gallup on Tuesday finds just “40% of Americans approving of President Donald Trump’s overall job performance, in line with support for him in June and July after registering 43% or higher in the first five months of the year.” The Gallup poll also finds unfavorable marks for the president’s handling of foreign affairs, education, and the economy, with the president failing to reach a 40 percent approval rating in any of these issue areas.
The public’s perception of crime as a significant problem doesn’t mean the president’s heavy-handed, legally dubious approach is the right one. The federal takeover of D.C. has predictably led to documented cases of civil rights and constitutional violations. Despite the president’s recent statements about widespread crime in American cities, there were signs as early as January of violent crime decreasing nationwide. FBI dataindicate a 4.5 percent decrease in violent crime nationwide in 2024. Early data from 2025 suggest that the ongoing trend could result in the lowest murder rate ever recorded, as reported by Reason‘s Billy Binion.
While Trump may enjoy enough public support now to think that crime will help Republicans in the next election, an approach to crime prevention that usurps local control remains deeply unpopular. Just like other issues, approval for the president’s crime policies could soon falter.
*** lot of work is being done to make sure you’re safe at the polls and that the election process isn’t interrupted. And two important things to know if you’re voting in person this year, if there are long lines and polls close while you’re still in line, stay in line, you have *** right to vote and election officials will outline *** plan. And if you make *** mistake on your ballot, you can ask for *** new one and start over head to our app or our website and check out the commitment 2024 section for information on your local and national races, ballot issues and information on how to vote and join our news teams on election night for information and results as we learn that, thank you for joining us.
Know your rights: Essential things to know before voting at the polls
Did you make a mistake on your ballot or do you need accommodations?
Updated: 12:00 AM EDT Oct 19, 2024
A number of laws protect voters as they play their part in our democracy, so they can cast their vote confidently. Before heading to the polls on Election Day, here are the rights you need to know that protect you by law:If the polls close while you’re still in line, stay in line. You have the right to vote. If you make a mistake on your ballot, you can ask a poll worker for a new one. If the machines are down at your polling place, you can ask for a paper ballot.If you are registered to vote but your name is not listed in the poll book, you are still entitled to a provisional ballot. Your ballot will be held separately from the regular ballots until an election official determines whether you are qualified to vote and are registered. If you meet those requirements, they will count your provisional ballot.If you are a voter with a disability and need accommodations, all polling places for federal elections must be fully accessible. Voters with disabilities and those unable to read or write can choose a person to assist in all aspects of the voting process except if the assistant is the voter’s employer or union. If you have difficulty reading or writing English, you can ask for assistance. Certain jurisdictions, determined by the Census Bureau, must provide all election information that is available in English in the covered minority language. The election process must be equally accessible in the minority language as it is in English. It is illegal to intimidate, threaten or coerce someone from voting or attempting to vote, as well as people who are urging or helping others to vote. How can I report a violation? To report a possible civil rights violation, you can report it to the Civil Rights Division online at civilrights.justice.gov or by phone at 800-251-3931.To report possible federal crimes, including potential threats against voters, election officials, or election fraud, you can contact the FBI either online at tips.fbi.gov or by phone at 800-CALL-FBI.This segment is part of a half-hour news special called Commitment 2024: Get the Facts. The special helps voters get the facts on the voting process and debunks election-related disinformation that could surface in the final hours before Election Day. To watch the full special, check your local listing for air dates or watch on the Very Local app.
A number of laws protect voters as they play their part in our democracy, so they can cast their vote confidently.
Before heading to the polls on Election Day, here are the rights you need to know that protect you by law:
If the polls close while you’re still in line, stay in line. You have the right to vote.
If you make a mistake on your ballot, you can ask a poll worker for a new one.
If the machines are down at your polling place, you can ask for a paper ballot.
If you are registered to vote but your name is not listed in the poll book, you are still entitled to a provisional ballot. Your ballot will be held separately from the regular ballots until an election official determines whether you are qualified to vote and are registered. If you meet those requirements, they will count your provisional ballot.
If you are a voter with a disability and need accommodations, all polling places for federal elections must be fully accessible. Voters with disabilities and those unable to read or write can choose a person to assist in all aspects of the voting process except if the assistant is the voter’s employer or union.
If you have difficulty reading or writing English, you can ask for assistance. Certain jurisdictions, determined by the Census Bureau, must provide all election information that is available in English in the covered minority language. The election process must be equally accessible in the minority language as it is in English.
It is illegal to intimidate, threaten or coerce someone from voting or attempting to vote, as well as people who are urging or helping others to vote.
How can I report a violation?
To report a possible civil rights violation, you can report it to the Civil Rights Division online at civilrights.justice.gov or by phone at 800-251-3931.
To report possible federal crimes, including potential threats against voters, election officials, or election fraud, you can contact the FBI either online at tips.fbi.gov or by phone at 800-CALL-FBI.
This segment is part of a half-hour news special called Commitment 2024: Get the Facts. The special helps voters get the facts on the voting process and debunks election-related disinformation that could surface in the final hours before Election Day.
To watch the full special, check your local listing for air dates or watch on the Very Local app.
LOS ANGELES – As the world gets a little warmer and we settle into the Spring season, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is proud to announce the return of our Youth Baseball and Softball Leagues for the Spring 2023 season.
BASEBALL & SOFTBALL ARE BACK!
Sign up for our Spring Sports Leagues, Coming to an LA County Parks Near You!
Baseball season is right around the corner, now’s the perfect time to sign up your young athletes for our Youth Baseball Leagues! Our Baseball Leagues will provide an emphasis on learning fundamentals of Baseball, skill development, sportsmanship, teamwork, and fun. League will run for 10 weeks and consist of one weekday practice and one game every Saturday. Game score and league standing will be kept. Rules will be enforced. Registration fee will include uniform, award, and umpire. Qualifying teams will advance and participate in the playoffs.
Girl’s Softball League will provide an emphasis on learning fundamentals of Softball, skill development, sportsmanship, teamwork, and fun. League will run for 10 weeks and consist of one weekday practice and one game every Saturday. Game score and league standing will be kept. Softball rules will be enforced. Registration fee will include uniform, award, and umpire. Qualifying teams will be advance and participate in the playoffs.
Divisions & Dates
D3 – D6: April 15 – June 12
AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING PARKS DIVISIONS 3 – 6
NORTH AGENCY
George Lane Park: 5520 W. Avenue, L-8, Quartz Hill, 93534 | (661) 722 7780
Through an exciting partnership with the Dodgers Foundation, Dodgers Dreamteam (formerly Dodgers RBI) brings the sport of Baseball and Softball at a lower price! The goal of DDT is to provide an inclusive, barrier-free sports-based youth development program for communities that have historically been left out of consideration.
Divisions & Dates:
April 15 – June 12
Divisions 3 – 6
AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING PARKS
EAST AGENCY
Belvedere Park: 4914 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. Los Angeles, 90022 | (323) 260 2342
Obregon Park: 4021 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90063 | (323) 260 2344
Election Day is right around the corner. With national polls pointing toward a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, all eyes are on a handful of swing states. However, the swing state roster has changed since the 2020 presidential election. So, what are the key states to watch come Election Day? Swing states are typically defined as areas that have similar levels of support for each political party’s candidate that can have a key role in the outcome of the presidential race.Seven states in two regions of the U.S. could have a major impact on the outcome of the 2024 election. The ‘Blue Wall’ statesThe so-called “Blue Wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are on the list of swing states. Trump won all three states in 2016, but President Joe Biden gained them back in 2020. Wisconsin is specifically seen as one of the most competitive states, as President Joe Biden had previously won by fewer than 21,000 votes in the 2020 election.The Sun Belt statesThe Sun Belt states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina have also made it onto the list. This is due to a combination of an increase of Latino, Asian American and young Black voting demographics in the region. But North Carolina and Georgia could still be wild cards, as North Carolina has historically leaned Republican. Most notably missing from the list of swing states is the industrial midwest: Ohio and Iowa have recently leaned more Republican. According to an analysis by NPR, the change is due to the shift toward the GOP among white voters without college degrees. Prior to the Trump era, Ohio and Iowa were considered competitive for decades.Both presidential candidates have intensified their campaigns in key swing states in the past few months.As voters cast their ballots, watching these regions will be key to determining the electoral college winner in 2024.
Election Day is right around the corner. With national polls pointing toward a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, all eyes are on a handful of swing states.
However, the swing state roster has changed since the 2020 presidential election.
So, what are the key states to watch come Election Day?
Swing states are typically defined as areas that have similar levels of support for each political party’s candidate that can have a key role in the outcome of the presidential race.
Seven states in two regions of the U.S. could have a major impact on the outcome of the 2024 election.
The ‘Blue Wall’ states
The so-called “Blue Wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are on the list of swing states.
Trump won all three states in 2016, but President Joe Biden gained them back in 2020.
Wisconsin is specifically seen as one of the most competitive states, as President Joe Biden had previously won by fewer than 21,000 votes in the 2020 election.
The Sun Belt states
The Sun Belt states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina have also made it onto the list.
This is due to a combination of an increase of Latino, Asian American and young Black voting demographics in the region.
But North Carolina and Georgia could still be wild cards, as North Carolina has historically leaned Republican.
Most notably missing from the list of swing states is the industrial midwest: Ohio and Iowa have recently leaned more Republican.
According to an analysis by NPR, the change is due to the shift toward the GOP among white voters without college degrees. Prior to the Trump era, Ohio and Iowa were considered competitive for decades.
One of the game-changing events of this presidential election that didn’t change much. Photo-Illustration: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
By most conventional standards, the 2024 presidential contest has been wild and crazy. What began as a likely ho-hum rematch of the 2020 nominees went sideways pretty early on when Donald Trump, originally facing 12 primary opponents, started getting indicted for criminal offenses in multiple venues. Despite constant claims that he was finally losing his magic, he crushed his intraparty opposition almost effortlessly, and his legal problems — which included multiple reminders of what he was up to on January 6, 2021, and how he has treated women for many years — seemed to help him politically.
The day he clinched the GOP nomination (March 12), he led Joe Biden in the RealClearPolitics polling averages by 2.1 percent. The day after Biden’s terrible debate performance on June 27, Trump’s lead was actually smaller, at 1.9 percent. His lead over Biden peaked at 3.4 percent on July 6 and ended at 3.1 percent on July 21 when the president dropped out of the race. That’s not a great deal of variation.
The midsummer replacement of Biden by Kamala Harris, an epochal event with no precedent in U.S. history (much like Trump’s criminal charges), at first didn’t shift the polls much at all; Trump maintained a lead in the RCP averages until August 4. Harris then built a modest lead that hasn’t changed in any significant way despite the novelty of her campaign, a clear debate victory on September 10, and two attempted Trump assassinations. She led Trump by 1.5 percent the day after the debate and leads him by 2 percent now. Yes, there are some shifts in support under the surface that have made the seven battleground states as close as or even closer than the national race, but all in all, the picture we have is of two big coalitions of equal size that neither grow nor shrink enough to change the equation. Even another historic development — the emergence and then the eclipse of the largest non-major-party presidential candidacy since 1992 — really didn’t change the balance of power between the two major-party candidates.
To get a sense of how impervious this race has been to the wild dynamics underlying it, let’s compare this year’s polling variation to that of other recent presidential cycles. In 2020, Biden led by 4.4 percent on May 11, by 10.2 percent on June 22, by 5.8 percent on September 16, by 10.3 percent on October 10, and by 7.2 percent in the final averages (he won the national popular vote by 4.5 percent). That’s a pretty good amount of bouncing around. But there was even more in 2016. Hillary Clinton led Trump by 11.2 percent on March 23, Trump led by 0.2 percent on May 23, Clinton rebuilt a 6.8 percent lead on June 26, but Trump regained the lead by 1.1 percent a month later. In the home stretch, Clinton led by 7.1 percent on October 17, but her lead dropped to 1.3 percent by November 2 and her final polling margin was 3.2 percent. She actually won the national popular vote by 2.1 percent. That’s a lot of volatility.
Going further back, we tend to remember the Obama-Romney contest of 2012 as a long, hard slog without that much movement. To some extent, that’s accurate, but Barack Obama led by 4.7 percent on August 11, the two candidates were tied on September 4, and Mitt Romney was up by 1.5 percent on October 9 and by 1 percent on October 26. Obama led in the final averages by 0.7 percent, and he actually won the national popular vote by 3.9 percent. In 2008, Obama led John McCain by 7.5 percent on June 23, McCain led Obama by 2.9 percent on September 7, but then Obama led by 7.6 percent in the final averages (very close to his actual 7.3 percent national popular-vote margin). And going all the way back to 2004, John Kerry led George W. Bush by 2.5 percent on August 11, but by September 8, Bush was up by 7.6 percent. In the final averages, Bush led by only 1.5 percent, a bit short of his actual margin of 2.4 percent. Election Night 2004 saw some bonus volatility as the exit polls were badly flawed and Team Kerry thought it had won.
So with all the volatility of the 2024 contest — its indictments, its candidate switch, its decisive debates, and whatever surprises lie ahead — the race has been a testament to fairly stable public sentiment and, most likely, partisan polarization. It’s so very close that it’s tempting to look ahead to the next development (e.g., next week’s vice-presidential debate) as a potential game changer, but we probably won’t know what most influenced the outcome until it’s all over. With luck, that will be long before the presidential electors meet on December 17.
