President Donald Trump, through his actions and inaction, has seen his approval rating plummet since the election, which dragged down the candidacies of Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in Tuesday’s runoff elections in Georgia.
Democrats were on the cusp of taking control of the U.S. Senate as they celebrated Rev. Raphael Warnock’s win in one runoff, and as Jon Ossoff declared victory in the other.
Trump had called the two Senate elections “illegal and invalid” in a series of New Year’s Day tweets, which was an ill-considered action for the Republican Party.
At a Washington, D.C., rally on Dec. 12, “MAGA” supporters rallied, but turned the get-together into an anti-Republican event. Newsweek claimed that in a speech before the group, conservative commentator Nick Fuentes allegedly said “[W]e’re done making promises. We are going to destroy the GOP.”
The crowd allegedly chanted “Destroy the GOP!” repeatedly.
Then Fuentes allegedly said, “The GOP wants us to hold the line and vote for RINOs like Davie Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the Georgia Senate runoffs,” a line that was allegedly followed by a chorus of boos, according to Newsweek. The only good news for the Republicans that day was that event attendance was well short of the billed “Million MAGA March.”
When Trump came to Georgia late last month, he focused on himself, with Perdue and Loeffler’s message drowned out in the noise. During that rally, Trump even allegedly admitted he didn’t like doing rallies for others. Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood, who allegedly said Republicans should boycott the election (according to Politico), called for Perdue and Loeffler to be arrested. He also allegedly called the latter an illegitimate candidate because he claims Rep. Doug Collins won in the Senate primary, according to The Daily Caller.
Trump also attacked Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, something that didn’t help Peach State Republicans. Trump capped off the negative presence with a phone call last weekend to Raffensperger in which he threatened and cajoled, insisting that the Georgia official, who oversees the state’s elections, “find” 11,000 votes to give Trump the presidential win in the battleground state.
Meanwhile, it didn’t help having so many GOP representatives supporting Texas’ “right” to overturn Georgia’s election.
Trump himself served as a drag on Republican fortunes. He’s focused almost exclusively on overturning the democratic result, trying to invalidate the legitimately cast ballots of millions of Americans. COVID-19 infects 1 in 17 Americans, killing one in every 1,000.
He vetoed the defense bill with a 3% pay raise for the armed forces, provisions to sanction Russia and thwart Chinese and Russian aims of domination, to keep military bases named for Confederate generals. Critics of Trump’s veto point out that the defense bill also cracks down on shell companies used for tax avoidance, which seems like a good thing to sign, and a bad thing to oppose.
The Senate overrode the veto by a wide margin.
As a result, Trump’s approval rating has fallen from 46% in early November (close to his election totals in the popular vote) now down to 39%, according to Gallup polling. Economic confidence has plummeted to 16%, down 15 points from the end of the election, as reality sets in about the true nature of the sputtering economy.
Failed leadership is now identified as the second worst problem in America, after the coronavirus itself. Only three presidents have had lower approval ratings than the president at this stage of their tenure.
President-elect Joe Biden, in the same Gallup poll, has risen to 65% approval in the polls for his handling of the transition, a marked contrast from Trump’s behavior.
Perdue and Loeffler should have been easy winners, incumbents against candidates who have never held political office. Yet, thanks to Trump and his hardcore MAGA supporters, the Democrats have been given a narrow margin of control in the U.S. Senate.
(John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in Georgia.)
