Trump says voters are angry with Republicans – but not him – as midterms near

President Donald Trump acknowledged that the odds are stacked against him in the upcoming midterm election, saying voters are angry with Republicans – yet still maintained that he was exempt from their growing frustrations.

With roughly three months until the midterms, the president and his allies are stumping for Republican candidates and tearing down Democratic policies in the hopes of maintaining the GOP’s narrow majority in Congress. But it’s an uphill battle for Trump, who can no longer appear on the ballot, as he faces record-low approval ratings and blame for higher costs due to the unpopular war with Iran.

“The question is, will they vote? Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you,” Trump told Punchbowl News in an interview that aired Friday.

Yet Trump insisted, “I mean they’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me. They’re not angry at me.”

Across the board, polls show that a majority of the country is unhappy with Trump’s handling of his job.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found Trump’s approval rating at 35 percent. Another AP/NORC poll from July put Trump’s approval rating at 33 percent. A Quinnipiac University survey determined Trump had a 32 percent approval rating.

Much of the disapproval appears to be tied to the ongoing military conflict with Iran. Trump’s decision to bomb Iran earlier this year has led to a prolonged conflict, where at least 18 U.S. service members have been killed, gas prices have increased by $1 and inflation has ticked up.

MAGA voters are more likely to approve of Trump’s war with Iran, but even among the demographic, support decreased over the last few months as the president goes back and forth between continuing strikes and negotiating a peace deal.

Some Republicans have warned the negative impact of the Iran war, particularly on the economy, could hurt them in the upcoming midterms. Trump initially ran on a platform of lowering everyday costs for Americans – in addition to promising not to start new wars.

Already, Republican lawmakers were looking at a difficult midterm since, historically, the party in charge of the executive branch loses seats in Congress because voters are looking for change.

There have only been two midterm election cycles over the last 80 years in which a president’s party gained seats in Congress, and both had atypical circumstances surrounding them – the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton.

During his interview with Punchbowl News, Trump recalled that midterms are famously difficult for the party in power but still kept a positive outlook.

“I think we’re going to win,” Trump said.

“Not everybody was a bad president. We’ve had good presidents and even good presidents; they tend to lose the midterms. So, I don’t know what that is. Other than that, I say we should win easily,” Trump added.