The Drudge Report posted a headline Monday that compared President Donald Trump’s poll numbers to those of former President Jimmy Carter before his failed reelection bid in 1980.
The site’s central headline read “Poll Shock: Trump Approval 38% Jimmy Carter Levels.“ It linked to a CNN report saying that Trump’s approval ratings had dropped 7 points in the last month and were at their lowest level since January 2019. The poll found that 38% of respondents approved of the job Trump was doing and 57% disapproved, according to CNN.
The Drudge headline compared Trump’s approval ratings to those of Jimmy Carter, who ran one of the most unsuccessful reelection campaigns in U.S. history when Ronald Reagan secured 489 electoral votes compared to his 49 during the 1980 presidential election. The president’s approval ratings are roughly the same as those of Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush at this time during their presidential terms, according to CNN.
The 2020 presidential election comes in wake of the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody. (RELATED: Trump Name Drops Matt Drudge At Colorado Rally: ‘He’s Starting To Like Me Again’)
Carter said last year that he thinks “it will be a disaster to have four more years of Trump,” according to a CNN report. When talking about who he would vote for in the presidential election, the former president said “I’m going to keep an open mind. One of the major factors I will have in my mind is who can beat Trump.”
“I gave up on Drudge (a really nice guy) long ago, as have many others,” President Trump tweeted in April. “People are dropping off like flies!”
I gave up on Drudge (a really nice guy) long ago, as have many others. People are dropping off like flies! https://t.co/L77SXS2mE8
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2020
In response, Matt Drudge told CNN that “the past 30 days has been the most eyeballs in Drudge Report’s 26 year-history.”
“Heartbreaking that it has been under such tragic circumstances,” he added, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite supporting the president during the 2016 election and making frequent trips to the White House in the early days of the Trump presidency, Drudge began posting negative news about President Trump during the summer of 2019, according to CNN.