President Donald Trump spent his 80th birthday watching Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters battle each other, the latest example of how he has used his second term to pursue personal interests and self-aggrandizement.
Poll Reveals Public Disapproval
A survey released Monday by Navigator Research, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit, found that Trump's authoritarian aesthetics are significantly dragging down his already low popularity. The public believes Trump is focused on everything except the economic concerns they want addressed.
The survey shows 56% of registered voters opposed Trump hosting the UFC event, with only 28% in support. This action had a net -28 approval rating, which was relatively favorable compared to other authoritarian-tinged actions. Unveiling a 22-foot gold statue at Mar-a-Lago had a -44 rating, putting his face on passports and a hypothetical $250 bill was -38, awarding a no-bid contract to repaint the Reflecting Pool was -36, and constructing a 250-foot triumphal arch was -34.
Ballroom Project Draws Strong Opposition
The most controversial action was Trump's decision to tear down the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom with $1 billion in taxpayer money. A full 65% of registered voters opposed this, with only 22% in support. Focus groups conducted by Navigator indicated swing voters are aware of these plans. Melissa Toufanian, managing director of Navigator Research, said, "The ballroom is such a representation of how the elite and those around the president are getting ahead, while average people are struggling to get by. It's an example of that mismatching prioritization, when people want the president to focus on inflation and the cost of living, and what they're seeing is everything but that."
Economic Concerns Ignored
The poll found that 58% of registered voters think it is important for the president and Republicans in Congress to focus on inflation and the cost of living, but only 20% believe that is what Trump and the GOP are doing. Even among MAGA-aligned Republicans, a significant portion thought the projects showed Trump focused on the wrong things: 31% said so about the ballroom, 29% about the gold statues, and 24% about putting his face on passports and the hypothetical $250 bill.
When asked why they found Trump's actions concerning, voters cited wasting taxpayer dollars, enabling corruption, and making bad decisions for the country. Overall, Trump's net approval rating was -18, and -23 on economic issues. Only 20% approved of his handling of gas prices, with even MAGA-aligned Republicans negative on his performance.
Democratic Edge Remains Small
Despite Trump's struggles on economic issues, the Democratic edge over the GOP on these topics remained tiny. Voters preferred Democrats on gas prices by only 37% to 32%, and on inflation by 38% to 34%.
The survey was conducted by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic polling firm, among 1,000 registered voters from June 4 to June 8. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
