Trump set to use desperate measures as approval rating tanks | US | News

Donald Trump is poised to resort to drastic measures as his approval ratings plummet dramatically ahead of tonight’s State of the Union address.

Trump informed cable news anchors at a pre-speech lunch that he plans to propose new tax cuts during his address. The US President is anticipated to concentrate on the economy in his speech, as successive polls indicate he’s losing favour with voters on this issue – with Democrats making headway on cost of living concerns, The Mirror reports.

During today’s traditional State of the Union day lunch with news anchors, Trump stated he would ‘advocate’ for fresh personal and corporate tax reductions. Republicans already enacted extensive tax cuts less than a year ago as part of Trump’s “one big beautiful” budget bill.

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A second round of cuts will be perceived as a desperate bid to reverse the polling trend.

This follows a Washington Post/ABC News poll which revealed 60% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance – with 47% expressing strong approval. A mere 39% approved of his performance, the lowest for any President prior to a second-year State of the Union in recent history.

The last occasion Trump’s disapproval hit 60% was shortly after the January 6th Insurrection during the final days of his first term.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated Trump will contend that Republicans remain best positioned to address the public’s anxieties regarding living costs, ahead of November’s midterm elections.

“The president’s going to make the case that three more years with him in the White House and with Republicans on Capitol Hill we can finally achieve the American dream in this country again that we had in his first term but was lost because of Joe Biden and the Democrats over the past four years,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House.

Trump is also anticipated to highlight his immigration enforcement measures, his reduction of federal government operations, his efforts to maintain extensive tariffs recently overturned by the Supreme Court, and his capacity to authorise rapid military interventions globally, including in Iran and Venezuela.

The president is further expected to criticise the Supreme Court’s ruling against his flagship tariff agenda and discuss his strategies to circumvent that judgment without relying on Congress or unsettling financial markets. He’s additionally likely to press lawmakers to boost military spending and strengthen voter identification rules, whilst defending immigration enforcement that has attracted cross-party condemnation following the fatal shootings of two American citizens.

Jeff Shesol, a former speechwriter for Democratic President Bill Clinton, noted that Trump has typically used State of the Union addresses to adopt more conventional tones than his usual bluster – but he’s still prone to frequent exaggeration.

“His job, for the sake of his party, is to show the silver lining,” Shesol stated. “But if he’s going to insist that the silver lining is gold, no one’s buying it. And it will be a very difficult position on the campaign trail for Republicans to defend.”

Michael Waldman, Clinton’s former chief speechwriter, commented that second-term presidents “have a tough job because what they all want to say is, ‘Hey, look what a great job I’ve been doing – why don’t you love me?'”.