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Trump privately blames HIMSELF in rare admission after frightening new poll leaves the president with sobering midterm realization

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Churchill, V. (2026, September 20). Trump privately blames HIMSELF in rare admission after frightening new poll leaves the president with sobering midterm realization. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16146513/Trumps-rare-admission-new-poll-midterm-realization.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-20 · by Victoria Churchill

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump has privately admitted to advisers that his decisions over the past two years might be detrimental to Republican chances in the upcoming midterm elections, despite publicly urging supporters to vote for party candidates. According to a Washington Post report based on four sources close to Trump, he believes some of his actions have contributed to his unpopularity and potential losses in November. New NBC polling indicates that 55 percent of Americans feel Trump’s policies have negatively impacted the economy, while his approval rating stands at 41 percent, marking its lowest point since he began his second term.
Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Donald Trump, privately acknowledging concerns about midterm election losses, has admitted to advisers that decisions made during his first two years as president may have hurt Republicans' chances. Despite this realization, Trump publicly maintains a confident stance and claims his actions are beneficial for the party. According to new NBC polling data released Sunday, over half of Americans (55 percent) believe Trump's policies have harmed the economy. The war in Iran, which has been controversial among voters, appears to be contributing to Republican struggles in November elections. Trump is reportedly taking more active steps to support Republican candidates and stumping for them in competitive races.

Written for “Trump Realizes Losing Public Support” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Realizes Losing Public Support
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 61/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 61 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses Trump's private admission about his actions possibly hurting Republicans in midterm elections, while Article B covers Republican candidates distancing themselves from Trump ahead of midterms.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Republican and Trump's actions and reactions around the midterm election, but do not describe the same specific incident.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's low approval ratings and their impact, they describe different aspects of the situation with distinct sources and dates.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 20 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the political situation and do not describe the same specific incident.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 81 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of President Trump's impact on midterm elections, with Article A focusing on management strategies for Trump and Article B reporting on a private admission by Trump about his actions costing his party in the elections.”
NBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 65 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss a poll impacting Trump's approval ratings and midterm election outcomes, they describe different aspects: Article A reports public voter sentiment directly from the poll results, while Article B discusses Trump's private reactions to these polls.”
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Trump's political situation leading up to midterms but do not describe the same specific incident.”
NBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 45 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss related political situations but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8837 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Victoria Churchill
55 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Alaska is also predicted to go the way of the Democrats, with another Republican incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, losing his seat to former Democrat lawmaker Mary Peltola.
🔮 Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Big Apple's mayor Zohran Mamdani have put on a united front in public, joining forces. Yet, as revealed by the New York Times, Mamdani's rapid rise has caused some friction among Ocasio-Cortez' allies, noting, 'While Mr. Mamdani has not universally pleased the left, it has long grated on some Ocasio-Cortez allies that the new mayor seems to be given more deference from more of the base than she was ever afforded.'
🔮 The moment came around an hour into Trump's rally in Daytona Beach on Friday, as the president campaigned ahead of elections that will determine control of Congress.
🔮 - Sign up HERE for the DC Insider Newsletter - for your guide on all the latest from the midterm campaign trail and what's rattling the White House A history professor who has accurately predicted the outcome of nine of the last 11 presidential races has issued his final assessment of the 2026 midterms.
🔮 - Sign up HERE for the DC Insider Newsletter- our guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill Republicans are on course to lose the House of Representatives in less than a week, and even President Donald Trump fears his voters will stay home.
🔮 President Trump himself has cast doubt on the GOP's chance at success with concerns about whether conservative voters will show up to vote this fall – especially because he's not on the ballot.
🔮 Per Axios, Castellanos believes that 'Republicans and independents are going to be screaming for attention, and many of them, including those who voted for Trump, may show their frustration by not showing up.'
🔮 At the rally, Darline called him 'one of Lindsey's greatest friends,' adding that Trump 'will always be a part of the Graham family.' Last month, the GOP allocated an additional $5 million in South Carolina to support Darline. The influx of cash was being sent as an 'insurance policy,' per Axios, to keep a seat in Republicans' hands that Lindsey had always won by more than 10 percent.
🔮 El-Sayed, who is on the Democratic ticket for Michigan, has faced Trump's ire for his politics and Islamic background, with the President saying he is a 'Member of the Muslim Brotherhood,' and claiming that he 'should never be allowed inside the halls of our great, beautiful Capitol building in Washington, DC.' On Sunday, Trump said that 'Abdul' would have to 'be the only Senator that will have to have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate.
🔮 The two chatted aboard Air Force One en route to President Donald Trump's rally in Michigan, where Minaj is expected to speak on stage later in the day.
Also by Victoria Churchill
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 55 articles by Victoria Churchill →

Topics

Alaska Democrats NBC Republicans Virginia

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× Republicans NORP · 6× NBC ORG · 4× Alaska GPE · 3× Democratic NORP · 3× Virginia GPE · 3× Democrats NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× North Carolina GPE · 2× Senate ORG · 2×

Narrative

Early voting for the November 3rd midterm elections got underway Friday in several states, beginning a process that will spread across most of the country in the coming weeks NBC also noted that 'Trump himself is a powerful motivating factor,' as 'more voters — including nearly half of independents — say they consider their vote a signal of opposition to the president than at any other time in three decades of NBC News polling before midterm elections.' Most prognosticators expect Democrats to win back the US House of Representatives, as Republicans are struggling to bolster enthusiasm for congressional candidates and laboring to overcome voters' concerns about the economy and the war in Iran.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21
🔮 But privately, the president has reportedly signaled to advisers close to him that his own actions during the first two years of his term may have cost his party dearly in the November elections.

Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

- Sign up HERE for the DC Insider Newsletter- our guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Publicly, Donald Trump has told his supporters to act like he is on the ballot, and claimed that he can be the difference-maker for Republicans in tough midterm contests. asserted
he → sign → contests
But privately, the president has reportedly signaled to advisers close to him that his own actions during the first two years of his term may have cost his party dearly in the November elections. uncertain
actions → signal → elections
Trump,'definitely feels like some of his decisions have led to the dynamics where he’s unpopular and things aren’t looking great for the midterms,' one individual close to Trump admitted to the Washington Post. asserted
individual → feel → Post
Trump's sobering realization has made him more intent on mitigating Republicans' expected election losses, according to the Post, citing four people with knowledge of Trump's recent comments. uncertain
him → make → comments
The president's fears may be grounded in reality, as new polling from NBC released Sunday showed that over half of Americans, 55 percent, believe that Trump’s policies have hurt the economy. uncertain
policies → ground → economy
Trump has deployed his cash in key midterm states. asserted
Trump → deploy → states
No Going Back PAC Inc., which is connected to Trump's MAGA Inc., has reserved more than $68 million for advertising. asserted
which → go → advertising
One bright spot for Republicans in NBC's poll is that Democrats only edge Republicans by five points in the battle for control of Congress, 50 percent to 45 percent, significantly smaller than the 12-point lead they had in the midterm 2018 election cycle. asserted
they → edge → cycle
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally last week in Gastonia, North Carolina Voters cast their ballots inside the Arlington County Courthouse as early voting begins in Virginia ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, in Arlington, Virginia, on September 18, 2026. asserted
voting → speak → September
Early voting for the November 3rd midterm elections got underway Friday in several states, beginning a process that will spread across most of the country in the coming weeks NBC also noted that 'Trump himself is a powerful motivating factor,' as 'more voters — including nearly half of independents — say they consider their vote a signal of opposition to the president than at any other time in three decades of NBC News polling before midterm elections.' Most prognosticators expect Democrats to win back the US House of Representatives, as Republicans are struggling to bolster enthusiasm for congressional candidates and laboring to overcome voters' concerns about the economy and the war in Iran. asserted
Republicans → get → Iran
The Senate will be tougher with battleground races in Maine, Ohio, Michigan and Alaska set to determine control of the chamber. asserted
races → set → chamber
Numbers released this week for statewide races in Alaska and Texas in seats that Republicans currently hold showed the Democratic candidates pacing ahead. asserted
candidates → release → that
An AARP poll in the Alaska Senate race released Thursday had Democrat Mary Peltola leading among all likely voters, polling at 46 percent to Republican Senator Dan Sullivan's 41 percent. asserted
Peltola → release → percent
A Carolina Journal poll released Thursday placed Cooper with a 15 point lead. asserted
poll → release → lead
North Carolina's last Democratic US Senator was Kay Hagan, who served from 2009 to 2015. asserted
who → serve → 2015
But Cooper served for two terms as governor from 2017 to 2025, lending him strong familiarity in the state. asserted
Cooper → serve → state
As messaging wars rage on in key states across the country, ballots are already being cast. asserted
ballots → rage → country
Mail-in ballots have already been sent to voters in several states, and in-person early voting started in Virginia on Friday. asserted
voting → mail → Friday
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