Trump decries 'fake polls' as he laments low approval at Angel Families event: 'I'm much higher'
Trump: "Fake polls -- I got one today. I saw one today that I'm at 40%. I'm not at 40%. I'm at much higher than that. I'd love to run against anybody. The real polls say 'you'd kill everybody, it wouldn't even be close.'" pic.twitter.com/X0DBmbG1bX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 23, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump railed against polls showing his approval ratings slipping during a White House ceremony honoring angel families, relatives of people killed by undocumented immigrants.
While addressing grieving families, Trump boasted about the strength of his second term and complained that negative coverage and polling had followed him once again.
“I’m here now, and it is a much more powerful term than my second term would be,” Trump said. “And one of the reasons everybody sees how bad they were. And I had to go through, and I still do fake stories and fake polls,” he added.
Trump blasts ‘fake polls’ in his speech
Trump specifically took aim at recent surveys suggesting that his approval rating was underwater, dismissing them as manufactured.
“I saw one today that I’m at 40%. 40%,” he said. “I’m not at 40%. I’m much higher than that,” he said.
He also revisited election polling from the past, claiming surveys predicted that he would lose badly, only for him to win “in a landslide.” “They were fake polls,” Trump said. “Because polls are tough. When you get a fake poll.”
Trump claims his presidency is stronger than Biden's tenure
The president argued that scrutiny has strengthened his presidency, repeatedly contrasting himself with his predecessor.
“Now they compare it to Biden and that horrible, horrible administration,” Trump said, adding that the military was now “much more powerful” after being rebuilt during his first term.
He again criticized the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, accusing the Biden administration of leaving behind military equipment.
Enten: "Trump's net approval rating. Look at the pre-SOTU polls. Look at that -- negative 27 points! My goodness gracious. Compare that to where he was in 2020, 2019, and 2017 -- minus 10, way lower now. The bottom line is Donald Trump has never been weaker going into a State of… pic.twitter.com/QGS21S6bFE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 23, 2026
Trump did not name the poll he was disputing. However, hours earlier, CNN data analyst Harry Enten had highlighted a pre-State of the Union survey showing the president’s approval rating at its weakest point yet.
New CNN polling put the president’s overall job approval at 36%, with a net approval rating of -27 points, a figure Enten compared to the president’s past numbers and his predecessors.
“Look at that minus 27 points, my goodness gracious,” Enten said on air, pointing to the numbers. “The snow is up to the knees here in New York City, and Trump seems to be well underneath it at this point.”
Despite the data, Trump insisted that the “real polls” tell a very different story and that his presidency is stronger because of the comparisons.
