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Donald Trump‘s popularity is steadily declining ahead of the November midterm elections.

The president delivered a national address on Thursday evening, during which he revealed newly declassified intelligence related to investigations into possible foreign interference by China in the 2020 election.

Trump’s address has sparked strong reactions from his political opponents, with some alleging that it is a smokescreen for his plans to meddle in the forthcoming midterms.

New Poll Exposes Trump’s Stalling Approval Ratings

President Donald Trump’s second-term political capital faces its most severe test yet ahead of the midterm elections in November.

A new Washington Post-Ipsos poll reveals that he is steadily growing more unpopular, with his job approval rating stubbornly mired in the 30s. The decline has been mainly attributed to his handling of the economy and the full-blown war with Iran.

According to the latest survey data, the president’s overall job approval stands at just 37%, while a substantial 61% of Americans say they disapprove of his performance.

The data also shows that a meager 15% “approve strongly” of him, a sharp decline from the 19% who felt that way in February, while 22% “approve somewhat.”

Independent voters also remain overwhelmingly critical, with 71% expressing disapproval. While 81% of self-identified Republicans continue to back the president, that figure drops significantly among Republican-leaning independents, further exposing vulnerabilities in the coalition that returned him to the Oval Office.

Donald Trump’s Popularity Takes A Hit Around The World

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The trend also persists on the international scene, as a new poll showed that the United States’ global image has now fallen below China’s for the first time in two decades.

Between February and May, the Pew Research Center surveyed more than 42,000 respondents across 36 countries and found that people in 25 of those regions now hold a more favorable view of China than the United States.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also scored a higher approval rating than Trump. Respondents in 22 countries, including allies such as Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, and the U.K., expressed greater confidence in the Chinese leader than the American president, although confidence in both remains low.

Trump’s rating dropped from 33% last year to 23%, while confidence in Xi Jinping increased from 15% to 24%.

Only six countries rated the United States more favorably than China: Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan, and Israel.

Expert Explains Why The US Is Losing Global Support

Yuri Gripas / Abaca/Pool via CNP

Explaining the decline in America’s global image, Laura Silver, associate director of Pew’s Global Attitudes Research, told The Guardian that Trump’s aggressive approach to foreign policy has contributed significantly.

Silver particularly highlighted the global instability caused by the Iran war, the raid on Venezuela, Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, and the tariffs he imposed on major allies such as Canada.

“There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the U.S. is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump,” she said.

“By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It’s more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability,” the researcher added.

Even the Chinese embassy in Washington weighed in on the study, saying the numbers “demonstrate that China’s governance achievements and development progress are widely recognized.”

Trump Accuses China Of Meddling In 2020 Election

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Trump accused China of interfering in the 2020 election, which he lost to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, per Reuters.

In a national address on Thursday evening, he claimed that China had carried out what he described as “the largest compromise of election data in history,” alleging that the Xi Jinping-led country obtained access to more than 220 million U.S. voter files before the election.

He added that he would order a full-scale investigation and “declassify” intelligence documents that purportedly reveal vulnerabilities in the voting system.

Trump’s 25-minute speech did not include any evidence that votes had been manipulated or that malpractice had affected the process. He claimed that the revelations showed that “the U.S. electoral system is exposed to manipulation and corruption.”

Trump has been pushing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to present photo identification and people registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.

Democrats Slam Trump’s Election Claims

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However, Trump’s political opponents have slammed his unsubstantiated claims, arguing that he is trying to cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral system as the midterms draw near.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, dismissed the allegations, pointing out that previous investigations had already concluded that no votes were altered.

“Trump’s shocking ‘bombshells’ about China are totally bogus,” Warner said.

Liu Chang, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, also denied the allegations, saying, “China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S.”

Trump’s 2024 opponent, former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, also took to X to say his speech was designed to “peddle lies and conspiracy theories.”

“The 2020 election was not stolen. We won, and he lost,” Harris added.

The Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Tanks Before Midterms first appeared on The Blast