Trump calls AP/NORC 31% approval 'fake numbers' in Time interview

Declines to rule out state of emergency before midterms

President Donald Trump dismissed polling showing 31% of Americans approve of his job performance as “fake numbers” during a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, in remarks published Thursday. The president also deflected responsibility for earlier statements about how long the Iran war would last, told Time he could have ended the conflict at any time but chose to extend it “because I wanted to go further,” and declined to rule out declaring a state of emergency before the November midterms.

When asked about the 31% approval rating in an Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, Trump told the magazine: “They’re fake numbers. I would beat anybody running today by 20 points. Your numbers, that you have, are fake. The pollsters are corrupt. They’re almost as corrupt as the writers.”

The president added: “See, I’m doing very well. I think I am. Look, we have the strongest economy.”

The AP/NORC poll found 26% of adults approve of the economy under Trump, while approximately 74% of Americans told AP/NORC the economy was leaning poorly. Another 65% of survey respondents said they blame Trump’s policies directly for higher costs.

For more than seven months, Americans have faced higher everyday costs as a result of the war with Iran, with gas prices surpassing $4 per gallon and inflation hovering at 3.4%.

Trump, asked by Time whether Americans misunderstood his earlier statements about the war’s expected length, placed the blame on the media. “I think the press fed it to them,” Trump said. In March, Trump had said the conflict was projected to last “four to five weeks” and blamed the media for reporting that projection. At the end of March, Trump told Americans he planned to wind down the Iran war over the next “two to three weeks.” In May, Trump insisted that a peace deal with Iran was nearly finalized.

The president told Time that he could have ended the Iran conflict whenever he chose but extended it “because I wanted to go further.”

On the possibility of declaring a state of emergency before the midterms, Trump told Time: “I don’t rule anything out or in. We’ll see.” He further specified that, while he had never invoked the Insurrection Act — a 19th-century law that allows the president to deploy military troops domestically under specific circumstances — he “could use it.” “A lot of people think I should use it sometimes,” Trump said.

The remarks come as Trump has previously refused to rule out declaring a national emergency around elections to implement voting regulations. In the months leading up to the midterms, Trump has claimed US elections are insecure and signed executive orders seeking to assert more control over voting methods, including restricting mail-in ballot voting and requiring voter identification. The FBI director, Kash Patel, has not ruled out the possibility of deploying federal law enforcement officers to polling locations, which is against the law.

Some Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns that Trump will again make allegations of election fraud if Democratic candidates outperform Republicans in the November elections. Trump refused to concede the 2020 presidential election after losing to Joe Biden.

Voters’ frustrations with Trump could affect Republican candidates in the upcoming midterm elections, particularly those closely aligned with the president. Polls show many Democratic candidates making progress with voters, even in historically conservative states such as Texas. Trump told Time magazine that, so long as he campaigns with candidates, Republicans could perform well.

In other remarks published by Time, Trump responded affirmatively when asked whether he regretted appointing Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. “What can I do? I put them in. They voted against me too often. I was very – I gave them the position of a lifetime, and they voted against me often,” Trump said.

The Supreme Court has often voted in favor of the Trump administration but has ruled against the president in cases challenging his sweeping tariffs and his efforts to roll back birthright citizenship.