Is the Bloom Fading from Trump’s Rose?

Rasmussen Reports released a concerning poll last week, revealing that at the three-month mark in President Donald Trump’s second term, a slim majority of voters are unhappy with the results thus far.

Specifically, 45% of likely U.S. voters say that, in general, considering how things are going with Trump as president, their feeling is, “Yes, this is what I voted for.” Fifty-one percent (51%) feel more like, “No, this is not what I voted for.”

Rasmussen Reports noted the caveat that this survey was conducted during a short spell of chaos, “While the stock market was amid a plunge attributed to Trump’s tariff policy.”

We tend to respond to our current situation: when things are temporarily chaotic and crazy, most people would say this is not what they asked for.

Let’s explore some of the significant current issues and how voters perceive them.

Another Rasmussen Report survey found that, "Although many voters don’t like how President Donald Trump is handling trade policy, a majority agree he needs to ‘reset’ international trade.”

How did they expect to manage a decades-long history of poor trade deals that favor other countries over the U.S.? Would politely asking China or the European Union to reduce or eliminate their tariffs have worked? Or would establishing a commission that takes months to produce a lengthy report stating the obvious, which is never acted upon, have been a better solution?

Immigration and its effects are pressing issues, particularly in the past few days when a U.S. Senator traveled to El Salvador to advocate for the return to America of a wife-beating, criminal, illegal alien gang member.

American voters certainly don’t want illegal aliens voting in our elections. Another Rasmussen Reports survey discovered, “Voters overwhelmingly consider it important to keep illegal aliens from voting in American elections, and nearly two-thirds support legislation to require proof of citizenship for voting.”

Perhaps it’s the deportations that displease Americans. Although Rasmussen Reports suggests otherwise. “Nearly two-thirds of voters back President Donald Trump’s effort to deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and about half want to impeach the federal judge who ordered a halt to the deportations.”

Is Trump the President of Deportation? How many deportations happened during the first two months of the current Trump administration? On March 19, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Newsweek that 28,319 individuals had been deported between Inauguration Day and March 11.

It may seem like a large number, but using an approximate figure of 15,000 deportations per month translates to 180,000 per year, or 1.4 million over a theoretical 8-year presidential term.

“According to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute back in 2017, more than 12 million people were ‘deported’ during the Clinton administration. The report adds that over 10 million were removed or returned during George W. Bush's time. However, the number is much lower for the Obama administration, at 5 million.”

Even President Joe Biden out-deported Trump; “Trump immigrant removals now 10 percent below Biden’s record.”

To be precise, the government no longer uses the term “deportation.” Instead, “There are 'removals,' which involve a formal court order, and then there are 'returns,' which do not.” Terminology aside, both refer to illegal aliens being sent back to their home countries.

Trump is a lightweight compared to his predecessors, yet the media ignores this fact, depicting Trump as the mean orange man sending innocent pillars of society, such as the “Maryland man” thug, back to their home countries. This illegal alien is not the only one. “Two ‘Maryland men’ charged with brutal murder in the same county where Kilmar Abrego Garcia lived.”

Democrats have a new constituency, “Maryland Men,” also known as criminal illegal aliens. As Politico reported, “House Dems travel to El Salvador to secure Maryland man’s return.” Do they care about their constituents who are victims of these criminal aliens?

Rogue judges and courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, remained silent when past presidents exercised their Article II powers to deport illegal aliens and keep the country safe. Now, suddenly, exercising such powers is viewed as fascism and tyranny.

Trump is doing exactly what voters elected him to do. In his first term, he faced constant resistance from the unelected administrative state and from within his own party and administration. He has learned his lesson and is adopting a much more aggressive approach in his second term.

Trump articulated his message to voters just before the 2016 election: “Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense.”

Trump still has the support of 52% of likely US voters, but if voters become impatient for quick results or believe the constant negative spin from corporate media, that support could decline.

In 1990, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reprimanded President George H.W. Bush, saying, “Remember George, this is no time to go wobbly.” Now is not the time for American voters to go wobbly.

 We stand at a crossroads, a moment of decision: national survival and prosperity, or losing the America we know. The future of our children and grandchildren is at stake.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a physician and writer.

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