Before he became the red giant pulling in the Republican Party, Donald Trump was known as a master of branding. He would tell you that he was a real estate mogul, but by 2015 he was instead a guy who allowed his name to be used on hotels (and television shows and home goods and ties) in exchange for a cut of the action. The name Trump stood for luxury — or at least a gold-plated variety of luxury.
Now the Trump name is synonymous with the Trump presidency. Which means, according to recent polling by YouGov conducted for The Economist, that the brand Trump has created is “dangerous,” “corrupt,” “racist” and “cruel.” Oh, and “bold” and “strong,” if it’s any consolation to the president.
Americans were asked whether various words described the president, with those six being the ones most likely to be associated with him. As you would expect, there was a wide divergence by party: Democrats were most likely to say that “corrupt” described Trump while Republicans were most likely to say “strong.” The words that the fewest people said described Trump? “Inspiring,” “steady” and “honest.” Even among Republicans, Trump didn’t get a majority to say he could be described as inspiring or steady.
The words that the fewest people said described Trump? “Inspiring,” “steady” and “honest.” Even among Republicans, Trump didn’t get a majority to say that he could be described as inspiring or steady.
Respondents could also say if they thought a word didn’t describe Trump — and that’s where things get interesting. Only just over half of Republicans said that “racist” didn’t describe Trump, with 50% or fewer saying that “cruel” and “corrupt” aren’t appropriate descriptors.
Unsurprisingly, given the divide above, one of the words that was least likely to be deemed inappropriate for Trump was “divisive.” But there’s another descriptor near the bottom of the doesn’t-apply list that is worth calling out: “out of touch.”
Trump has had a rough year. His approval ratings are low, having shed both the initial boost in support he got when he came into office and the positive views that many people had of him at the time of the election. His approval ratings among women, independents, older Americans and whites are near lows in YouGov polling spanning both of his terms in office.
He’s doing all right with Republicans, as usual — but there’s a catch. At the beginning of the year, most Republicans said they strongly approved of his performance as president, with relatively few saying they only somewhat approved. As the months passed, more Republicans began expressing more modest approval of Trump’s tenure. In the most recent YouGov poll conducted for The Economist, fewer than half of Republicans said they strongly approved of Trump’s presidency, a first for his second term.
There’s an obvious reason why. While Trump has been daydreaming about ballrooms and golden arches, while he’s been slathering the White House with goldish accessories and accoutrements, prices keep going up. In that same YouGov polling, Trump’s approval on crime, immigration and national security is in the 40s, though into the 80s and 90s among Republicans. On inflation and prices, however, he’s in the 30s overall and enjoying strong approval from only a third of Republicans.
This is almost certainly not distinct from Trump’s declining support over the course of this year. In 2024 he won reelection by running as the guy who would fix the economic challenges that he blamed on Joe Biden. He hasn’t, no matter how loudly he yelled about it from the White House this week. Other polls show similar pessimism. The Marist Poll, for example, found that Americans think their financial position has worsened over the year since Trump’s been back in charge. For the first time in its polling, Marist found that Democrats have an advantage on the economy. Trump was lucky last year in being able to point to the (pre-Covid-19) economy from his first term as a counterpoint to how things were going under Biden. But he never had any non-hand-wavey proposals for addressing costs and, instead, helped make the economy and prices worse by implementing broad tariffs on imports. So now he’s stuck as the guy in charge — a guy whose brand identity as the gold-loving face of low-end luxury reflected his very real interest in slapping his name on big, glitzy buildings and hosting sumptuous parties at private clubs. Suddenly, the billionaire president is in a position where he could benefit from showing real empathy to working Americans. On culture war stuff: Sure, no problem. But on economics? It’s a nonstarter. No wonder most Republicans aren’t willing to say that “out of touch” doesn’t apply to the president. If it’s any consolation to them, it’s likely that history won’t remember Trump for his inability to connect with the economic concerns of Americans. Instead, history books will likely focus more on the actions that prompted most non-Republicans to see him as corrupt, racist and dangerous.
Philip Bump is a data journalist and MS NOW contributor. 
