GOP Senators Urge ‘Long View’ Of Trump Presidency On 100th Day Despite Falling Poll Numbers

Senate Republicans are shrugging off polls suggesting voters are souring on President Donald Trump’s second term, arguing that Trump’s vast policy agenda will boost Americans’ satisfaction with his administration in the long run.

Trump’s second term capped off its first 100 days Tuesday amid recent polling suggesting that an increased number of Americans are viewing his presidency negatively. Though some Republicans conceded that the president’s unfavorable poll numbers could be attributed to the president’s tariff rollout, every GOP lawmaker the Daily Caller News Foundation spoke to Tuesday was confident that voters would ultimately warm to Trump’s early victories on border security and rescinding regulations.

They also touted anticipated wins on the horizon, including the president’s “one big, beautiful bill” that lawmakers are currently drafting.

“If you look at overall the things that this President and we are going to work with him to achieve, whether it’s lessening the regulatory burden, creating energy dominance, preventing the $4 trillion tax increase coming at the end of the year … those are things that the American people supported,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday. “I think when you’re going through all of this you’ve got to take the long view. His policy decisions are the right ones and I think overtime that will bear fruit and you will see the results of that.”

A NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll survey published Tuesday found that 55% of U.S. residents disapprove of Trump’s approach to the economy. Similarly, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published April 23 showed that just 37% of respondents approved of the president is handling economic matters.

Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno slammed the recent spate of unfavorable polling as “totally misleading” regarding how the average American feels about the president’s first 100 days.

“I think if you survey most Americans, they are thrilled that we finally have a secure border,” Moreno said. “We have inflation at the lowest place in years. We’re getting peace and stability around the world. So I think net, net Americans are very, very happy.”

Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville also attributed the president’s recent polling performance to “the tough situation” the Trump administration inherited from its predecessor.

“It’s going to be slow progress [from] agriculture to education to commerce, all that’s going to be slow,” Tuberville told the DCNF. “But at the end of the day, our people just need to see and hear about positive things happening right now … I think the American people just want to hang their head on something that’s getting better.”

Chief among the wins that Senate Republicans celebrated Tuesday is the Trump administration getting illegal border encounters to the lowest level in decades. Similarly, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that illegal migrant “gotaways” have decreased by 99% since Trump’s inauguration.

“I think nothing spells success more than one of the biggest issues during the campaign, which was border security,” Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Tuesday at the Senate GOP leadership press conference. “I say congratulations to President Trump. He said all along that he could do this, he would do this, and he would be effective. President Biden, on the other hand said, ‘I can’t do anything.’”

Amid warning signals that voters are uneasy with Trump’s handling of the economy thus far, Senate Republicans are eager to tout the presumed economic benefits of the sweeping budget bill that is expected to be signed into law this summer. The reconciliation package is expected to include an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, an unprecedented amount of border security funding and oil and gas lease sales.

“In the next 100 days, Republicans will continue to fulfill our promises,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “We will stop Democrats’ $4 trillion tax hike. This protects families and small businesses from the largest tax increase in history.”

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy is urging Trump to take advantage of the moment that could be a defining moment in his second term.

“As we start the reconciliation process, I would like to see him do an address to the American people and say, ‘Here’s my plan to lower prices,’” Kennedy told the DCNF. “It’s undeniable that when you think of economics, most people in America today immediately think of tariffs as opposed to all the president’s done and is doing on lowering prices … the best way to change that perception is to have the President do a nationwide address.”

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