By Nia-Malika Henderson / Bloomberg Opinion
Donald Trump was swept back into office by a powerful group of podcasters and influencers, some of whom appeared at his inauguration and have since gotten special access to his administration.
Now, some of these pro-Trump forces are not entirely sold on his approach to governing, which has been beset by chaos, reversals and broken campaign promises. The minor but consistent cracks are instructive as they provide a window into Trump’s unusually loyal base.
On several issues, Trump has disappointed some of the loudest voices in the conservative echo chamber, including Joe Rogan, Dave Portnoy and some lesser known, yet still influential, personalities.
On the PBD podcast, which has 2.57 million subscribers, a group of what could only be described as MAGA bros criticized Trump over his lack of results so far, knocking the administration’s execution and arguing that the president has under-delivered on the economy, foreign policy and rooting out corruption. (They also aren’t happy with the Epstein file release, a MAGA obsession).
“Liberation Day, where he liberated America of like $5 trillion worth of wealth, and nobody saw it coming,” said Adam Sosnick, a co-host of the PBD podcast, who gave Trump a C+ grade. “So I don’t understand the methodology for what he was doing with Liberation Day.”
“It’s C-, to me their grade right now C- on results,” said Patrick Bet-David, PBD’s namesake, on Trump’s term so far. “First hundred days, when you go purely by results, we were told day one there’s gonna be peace with Russia and Ukraine. It’s day 100, there’s no peace there; I thought there was gonna be a deal being done there.”
Bet-David, who voted for Trump in the last three elections, also criticized Trump’s fruitless threats against Iran and lack of trade deals.
Other criticisms from the podcast universe, which has a younger and more online demographic, have come from Joe Rogan, America’s most popular podcaster. Despite endorsing Trump and backing his rhetoric on immigration in 2024, last month he called the deportation of a gay hairdresser to El Salvador “horrific” and said it was damaging to the broader cause of deporting criminals, which Americans largely support.
Then there’s Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, who has raged at Trump over tariffs, which he said cost him millions of dollars.
“The stock market is a direct reflection of Trumps [sic] 1st 100 days in office,” he tweeted in response to Trump blaming Biden for sliding markets. “Doesn’t mean it won’t get better and that we don’t need to be patient, but this is his market not Bidens [sic].”
Pro-Trump influencer Candace Owens, who has 4.22 million subscribers, has slammed Trump over his fight with Harvard, which she sees as an attack on free speech.
“I never thought that I would see a day where I would be rooting for a university above Donald J. Trump and his administration,” she said. “But I don’t recognize this administration right now. I don’t recognize what’s happening.”
But it’s not only right-wing podcasters and influencers doubting Trump’s approach. Mainstream conservative media has too. The Wall Street Journal opinion page, usually staunchly Republican, has hammered Trump, giving former Vice President Mike Pence a platform to sharply criticize Trump’s “massive policy misstep in the form of sweeping tariffs imposed on friend and foe alike.” Editorials from the paper have included “The Dumbest Trade War in History,” “Trump vs. Amazon’s Brilliant Tariff Idea” and “At 100 Days, Trump 2.0 Is in Trouble.”
Fox News, which like the Wall Street Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch, continues to be largely positive about the administration, but has nevertheless conducted polls showing slipping support. Some anchors and guests have criticized Trump’s policies, drawing the president’s ire. Stephen Miller, a top White House aide, told a Fox News anchor live on air that they should fire their pollster and Trump has repeatedly criticized the network for some of their coverage.
The second-guessing among pro-MAGA forces mirrors poll numbers that show Trump’s approval ratings slipping in key metrics. Though he still remains quite popular among Republicans, surveys show his near-unanimous support has slightly declined. In March, a CNN poll showed him with 92% approval from Republicans. He is currently at 86%, a six-point drop.
Another data point to consider. In February, 44% of GOP-aligned respondents said they were excited about the rest of Trump’s term. Now, just 33% feel the same way about his remaining years in office.
And his biggest approval rating drop has come in Florida, a state he won three times but where he’s now underwater, according to a Civiqs poll.
Trump made epic promises on the campaign trail about lowering prices and mass deportation and repeatedly said he would clean up his predecessor’s mess, quickly and competently.
Once in office, he made threats, so far idle ones, about taking over Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal. There was also talk of the “Riviera of the Middle East.” A manufacturing boom is also apparently in the offing, as part of a promised Golden Age.
For Trump’s most ardent fans, who collectively fill thousands of hours of air time on streaming and social media platforms, their nostalgia for Trump’s first term has yet to be fulfilled by his second. Promises made have not been kept, particularly around the economy. The threat to Trump and the GOP is that he doesn’t seem to have a solid economic plan – he has said that consumers will simply have to accept buying fewer goods and paying higher prices for those goods. He also seemed to preemptively blame Biden for any economic slowdown.
Trump’s core base, and the influencers that shape and amplify their views, like his attitude and his constant owning of the libs. But Trump promised them more. While it’s unlikely that Trump’s influencer base abandons him, their dampened enthusiasm means Trump’s once-solid cheering section has some doubts; and those doubts could make his next thousand days difficult ones, particularly if he keeps overpromising and underdelivering.
Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
