The most recent polls show that around 40% of adult Americans approve of the Trump administration’s performance. Broken down by party, 4% of Democrats approve, while a surprising 85% of Republicans continue to stand by their man in March 2026. This demonstrates fairly conclusively that the politics of division started about 20 years ago have created two distinct political realities.
One reality seeks a stable, progressive world, and the other believes the world is filled with dark, evil people that necessitate a recurring chaotic struggle against these forces, including those who seek a progressive, stable world.
Unfortunately, despite these separate realities, Americans inhabit only one country. Whether we like it or not, we all pay for the programs of those who control our political reality at any given time. Likewise, Americans traveling or interacting with people across the globe are perceived by the image projected by those who control our reality. Today, the taxes paid by all Americans finance the dark, paranoid reality created by Trump and his merry band of MAGA supporters.
The fact that 85% of Republicans remain committed to Trump’s wasteful, clumsy management of the Federal government is puzzling. Trump was a success as a pretend entrepreneur on television, just as George Clooney was a brilliant doctor on the television show ER. In the real world, Trump was an opportunistic, minor-league real estate developer in New York City. He went bankrupt so many times that no American bank would lend him a penny.
Trump’s dark, hyper-aggressive style blew away all his moderate Republican competitors in 2015. After gaining control of the Republican Party, his brand of resentment politics suckered millions of exploited Americans into joining his MAGA movement. This was not too difficult because the Democratic Party commonly referred to these folks as the “deplorables.” However, it is ironic that the exploitative Epstein class, who actively supported Trump, gained control of the Republican Party thanks to those they routinely exploit.
The fact that 85% of Republicans still support Trump after he has broken practically every promise he made in the 2024 campaign is also puzzling. Objectively, Republicans said that they wanted less spending, lower inflation, and no wars. Trump’s administration has delivered the opposite. The federal deficit has accelerated, as in the 1980s under Reagan and in the 2000s under George W. Bush. The cost of food and electricity increased significantly, even before the war with Iran. The “quick” war to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program, AGAIN, has all the indications of another expensive wag-the-dog boondoggle.
The maniacal Secretary of WAR recently said he needed an additional $200 billion to continue the war with Iran. The average cost of gasoline has risen by over $1 since the beginning of the war. Our formerly close and reliable NATO allies told Trump that the Iran War was his war. For once, NATO will not follow the USA into an armed conflict. Trump has not only burned bridges, but he is making all Americans pay for the rising cost of his diplomatic pyromania.
There is no need to discuss Trump’s amateurish tariff bravado. However, if the farmers in the Midwest continue to stand by Trump then the American Midwest has a severe mental health crisis.
Trump calls his detractors all sorts of vile names. I hesitate to get into a Trump-style name-calling game. However, I am genuinely puzzled that 85% of Republicans continue to support their lawless, greedy, buffoon-in-chief.