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Lexington, Virginia – president Donald TrumpPoll numbers are somewhat mixed these days. His average approval rating is down about 7 points, while some surveys show his approval rating is down 19 points. And one of the most accurate polls in 2024 showed that his approval rating rose by 1 percentage point to 50%.
Likewise, a clear majority of Americans say in polls that they want all illegal immigrants deported, but a majority also say the Trump administration has gone too far in enforcing this policy.
So, what do the American people want?
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger terminated an agreement between state law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
I traveled to Lexington, Virginia, to get a sense of the reality, and underneath these erratic and inconsistent poll numbers, I found there was good news and bad news for both parties, and the midterm elections were still up in the air.
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Brian, who was from nearby Lynchburg, was in town with his wife, Erin. A chef in his early 50s and a former Republican, he found Trump’s rudeness and his alleged racism, such as recent social media posts depicting the Obamas as monkeys, to be deal breakers.
Bryan is very interesting because while he knows he can’t tolerate Trump, he’s also very vocal about the negative trade-offs of voting for a Democrat. When I asked him about Virginia’s new governor as a business owner, Abigail Spanbergerhis answer is very telling.
“I voted for her,” Brian told me. “Part of me wishes I didn’t have to do it, but I do it anyway because another option“.
The alternative here appears to be Trump, not Spanberger’s real opponent, former Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl-Sears, and that’s something any Republican looking to run by distancing themselves from Trump should consider. It probably won’t work anyway.
I pressed Spanberger and asked Brian if the wave of new taxes she supports worries him.
“It definitely worries me,” he said. “I’m a fiscal conservative. I have to balance my budget and the government should do the same. But if the alternative is racist, then I have to reject it.”
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Never mind that Sears is African American. Bryan is a perfect example of why Democrats are so focused on race and ethnicity. For some voters, it is said presidential racism Even going so far as to override their own policy beliefs and preferences and tarnish the party he governs.
The phenomenon may also look like fool’s gold to pollsters, who believe that voters with some conservative leanings should be accessible, but some, like Bryan, will never support Trump or the Republican Party as long as Trump leads.
Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears (left); President Trump, right. (Al Drago/Getty Images; Anna Chanmemaker/Getty Images)
As Bryan put it bluntly, “If it’s men playing women’s sports or racism, I have to play women’s sports with men.”
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But it’s not all bad news for Trump in rural Virginia. Alice, who is in her 40s and works in real estate, thinks Trump’s economic measures It’s starting to pay off.
“I can feel it,” she told me. “Gas prices are low and grocery stores sell more stuff. That’s what we voted for.”
When I asked about Trump’s abrasiveness, she simply said: “If you’re not used to it by now, you’re not used to it.”
Others, like Peter, who is retired in his 70s, are feeling real political fatigue. “Apathy” is not the right word, but maybe “frustration” is.
“Today, who you vote for represents your entire identity,” he said. “But I can’t fall out of the tree every time Donald Trump opens his mouth.
A small protest of mostly older, white people gathered on a street corner in picturesque Lexington on Friday afternoon. Leader and spokesperson Annette is handing out cookies. Unlike their counterparts in Minneapolis, they are comfortable talking to the media.
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“This is what we’ve been worried about,” a man carrying a Virginia state flag whose motto is “Sic Semper Tyrannis” told me of the Trump administration’s handling of Minneapolis. “That’s why we’ve been protest here One year. “
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Generally speaking, the big shifts that pollsters so eagerly seek seem to exist more in the digital world than the flesh-and-blood world, and in the Trump era it’s still rare to see anyone change their mind politically.
No, the concern among Republicans today is not that Trump or the Republican Party are losing support. The problem is that local Democrats appear to be more motivated than Democrats to stop Trump. republican voters is to reward slow and steady progress.
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Importantly, there appears to be nothing Trump can do, anything he can soften, whether on immigration enforcement, tariffs or his own rhetoric, to sway voters who hate Trump. But both Trump and the party have proven they can win without them.
Between now and the midterm elections, we’ll be on the ground listening to what voters never tell pollsters. If Lexington is any indication, this is still anyone’s game.
Click here to read more from David Marcus
