Trump is 'knifing' the 'mythology that keeps him above water': GOP pollster

Republican pollster Sarah Longwell thinks that President Donald Trump's carefully crafted image is faltering as his economic policies leave Americans desperate.

"Trump's carefully curated impression, you know, through his years on 'The Apprentice,' for voters is that he's a businessman. So, I hear it over and over and over again when people say, look, I don't like his personality or, you know, I don't always like the way he behaves this way or that. But he's a businessman, and I think he's going to lower prices. I think he's going to do good things for the economy. And so right now, what you're seeing is Donald Trump taking a knife to the mythology that keeps him above water with people."

Trump has a base support of about 32%, she cited. Those are voters who "will have to be living on the street before they will admit that Donald Trump has ruined the economy."

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Other voters, however, voted for Trump over inflation and higher prices. Those are the voters Trump is starting to lose.

"So, you're starting to hear people really worry about the fact that Donald Trump doesn't seem to be paying attention to the economy," Longwell said. "That is not what he is focused on. And it's starting to come up even in groups that are very supportive of him. They say, I like what Elon's doing. You know, I'm still optimistic, but even those people will express concern about the potential of tariffs."

"These are just consumers who wanted things to be cheaper," she continued. "And [if] Donald Trump raises prices on them, they will abandon him very fast."

Longwell said this comes from those she polled before the tariffs went into effect.

During a later segment, Longwell told Wallace that there are simply some Americans who need to "touch the hot stove" before they learn it can burn them.

"I think, to voters, until they feel the negative personal consequences from what Trump is doing — and I think the tariffs, I've started to hear it in the groups. And last time I was on your show was really the first time it had started to bubble up. It's the economic stuff. Even DOGE. Some people are nervous about it. They don't love Elon Musk, but people have to feel — they have to touch the stove, right? They have to feel the negative personal consequences before they're really going to turn on him."

That's why she thinks tariffs will be the thing that bursts the Trump bubble.

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