U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Alaska meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Almost seven months into Donald Trump's second presidency, his hardcore allies on Capitol Hill — including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) — are claiming that his approval is through the roof.

Johnson, appearing on CNBC, claimed that Trump's popularity is "skyrocketing" and said, "CNN had a story, I think a day or two ago, he was at a 90 percent approval rating. There's never been a president that high."

Issa, on Fox Business, commented, "Trump's low approval rating? It couldn't be higher!"

READ MORE: Bombshell change to Trump’s meeting with 'war criminal' Putin meeting ignites shockwaves

But MSNBC's Steve Benen, in his August 15 column, refutes those claims with an abundance of polling data showing how generally unpopular Trump is at this point.

Benen notes that the CNN poll Johnson referenced showed Trump at 88 percent approval among strictly Republican voters. Taking into account voters on the whole — GOP, Democrat, independent and otherwise — Trump's approval was only 42 percent.

From CNN to Gallup to Pew Research, Benen emphasizes, Trump's poll numbers are undeniably weak.

"The latest national poll from Gallup found Trump's approval slipping to an embarrassing 37 percent," the "Rachel Maddow Show" producer observes, "and a new national survey from the Pew Research Center pointed in a very similar direction. From its analysis: 'Six months into his second term, public evaluations of President Donald Trump's job performance have grown more negative. His job approval stands at 38 percent — 60 percent disapprove — and fewer Americans now attribute several positive personal characteristics to him than did so during the campaign.'"

READ MORE: This single sentence will fast-track Trump to a prison cell

Benen adds that "the closer one looks at the results" of recent polls, "the worse they appear" for the U.S. president.

"Trump has said the GOP's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' is broadly popular," Benen explains, "but the Pew poll found only 32 percent of Americans approve of it. Trump has said the public 'loves' his trade tariffs, but the Pew poll found 61 percent of Americans disapprove of his tariff policies — which is consistent with several other recent national surveys that generated similar results…. What's the good news for the White House in the Pew survey? There isn't any."

Poll after poll, according to Benen, contradicts Issa's claims about Trump's popularity.

"Issa might believe that Trump's public support 'couldn't be higher," Benen writes, "but I'd remind the congressman that, as a rule, it's pretty easy for presidents to have approval ratings higher than 38 percent. In fact, at this point in his term, there's never been an American president, in either party, with less support than Trump."

READ MORE: 'Financial ruin': Trump's White House is terrified of losing this lawsuit

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.