Published on 6/30/2026
Less than two years after his return to the White House, US President Donald Trump is facing a noticeable decline in his popularity, at a time when American votes see that the political and cultural momentum that accompanied his victory in the 2024 elections has begun to fade, and that many of those who gave him their votes have become disappointed with his performance.
In an opinion article in the New York Times, writer David Wallace Wells believes that the talk that followed the 2024 elections about a “cultural shift” leading the United States towards the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) project did not last long, as the country witnessed, in his words, a “counter-shift” that returned the scene to a different point, with support for the president and his administration declining.
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The writer says that conservatives and Trump supporters considered after the elections that the country had entered a new phase, entitled ending diversity and equality policies, tightening immigration, and restoring conservative values, but that narrative gradually lost its luster with the increasing political and economic crises.
Trump lost the gains he achieved after the elections, after his economic policies, especially customs duties, led to a new wave of inflation, while his project to reform the government apparatus failed, and his severe campaigns against immigrants within American cities sparked widespread reactions.
Popular discontent
The New York Times relies on several indicators to explain the decline in Trump’s popularity, most notably the decline in his support rates to low levels, while the Democrats now have a real opportunity to regain the Senate, in addition to the popular discontent that followed the war on Iran and its end, which the writer describes as “humiliating.”
The article believes that Trump wasted the gains he achieved after the elections, after his economic policies, especially customs duties, led to a new wave of inflation, while his project to reform the government apparatus failed, and his severe campaigns against immigrants within American cities sparked widespread reactions, even among voters who supported tightening border controls.
The writer adds that American military operations abroad also weakened Trump’s image as a president who opposes wars, after they contributed to the rise in oil prices and revealed aspects of the fragility of American power.
The New York Times points out that the decline was not limited to independent voters, but also affected groups that Republicans considered the basis of the future of the “MAGA” movement. Trump’s popularity among young people has fallen by as much as 50 points in some opinion polls, and has also declined sharply among black and Latino Americans, and even among the white working class that formed his traditional electoral base.
Decline of cultural hegemony
The writer believes that this reveals that the coalition that seemed cohesive after the 2024 elections was not as solid as many imagined, and that Trump’s victory itself was achieved by a narrow margin of about 1.5 percentage points, without obtaining a majority of the popular vote.
The article also points out that many aspects of conservatives’ “cultural hegemony” have begun to decline. The huge celebrations that the administration sought to organize on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States did not attract prominent artistic names, and a number of participants withdrew, while events such as organizing a martial arts tournament in the White House sparked widespread criticism, which the writer considered evidence of the decline in the president’s cultural appeal.
However, the article points out that some of the transformations that accompanied the rise of “MAGA” are still in place, such as the decline in diversity and equality programs, the continued growing influence of technology and artificial intelligence companies, in addition to the escalation of conservative discourse on issues of identity and gender within the Republican Party.
The writer concludes that elections and partisan victories do not necessarily reflect a radical shift in the identity of American society, stressing that many exaggerated the belief that Trump’s victory would mean a permanent change in the country’s course.
