The midterms
Eight in ten voters fault Trump on the cost of living.
An AP-NORC poll finds about three-quarters also disapprove of how he handles the economy. About half want substantial change. He spent Wednesday in Arizona and Montana promising a $5,000 check if Republicans hold Congress.
The Rocket News · Washington Bureau · WashingtonOctober 15, 2026 · 4 min read
WASHINGTON — A strong majority of voters believe President Trump is falling short at home and abroad, the Associated Press reported Thursday, in a new AP-NORC poll taken with the midterms 19 days off. About eight in ten registered voters disapprove of how he handles the cost of living. About three-quarters disapprove of how he handles the economy. Among Republicans, 44 percent approved of his work on the cost of living and 54 percent approved of his work on the economy. About half of voters want substantial change in how the country is run. Roughly three in ten want what the poll called complete and total upheaval. About three-quarters of Democratic voters said voting is extremely important, against roughly six in ten Republicans.
The economy and the cost of living are high priorities on both sides. Trump was on the road Wednesday, in Bullhead City, Arizona, and then Kalispell, Montana. The Associated Press reported that he warned the Second Amendment would be “under siege” if Democrats win, and that he defended a luxury jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One. “When they give you a 747 you say two words: thank you,” he told the Arizona crowd. The Arizona Republic reported that he again promised $5,000 to each American adult if Republicans keep the House and the Senate. He was there for Rep. Andy Biggs, who wants the governorship, against Gov. Katie Hobbs.
About eight in ten registered voters disapprove of how he is handling the cost of living.
The photograph shows Trump speaking, both arms out, at a rally podium on that western swing. It is Wednesday’s rally, not the poll. The Politics desk files the numbers. The wholesale index is on the economy page. The letters to election offices are on the states page.
Wire and further reading: apnews.com
Filed under Politics
Keep reading
The House
Jeffries sketched a first 100 days if Democrats take the House.
The Democratic leader said the party would move at once on health-care tax breaks, Medicaid, a vote against the Iran war, and Trump’s tariffs. He said Democrats will be united right out of the gate.
The midterms
House Republicans say the chamber is slipping.
Five of them told Politico the majority is gone. Trump spent the night in Las Vegas and is due in Bullhead City, Arizona, this afternoon, then Montana. He told a crowd a Republican Congress is worth $5,000.
Video · CNN
The press
A judge kept CNN, Politico and MS NOW in the White House.
Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, extended an order covering 78 reporters. He called the ban unlawful viewpoint discrimination. The case sits three weeks before the midterms.