Trump: 'Nobody likes me'


President Trump is blaming his personality, not his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic that has left more than 151,000 Americans dead, for his low approval ratings when it comes to the crisis.
A Morning Consult poll released Monday found that 59 percent of voters do not approve of Trump's handling of the pandemic, with just 36 percent approving. During a coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, Trump touched on these bleak numbers, wondering aloud why Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is polling better.
"It's interesting, he's got a very good approval rating and I like that," Trump said. "It's good. Because remember, he's working for this administration. He's working with us. We could've gotten other people. We could've gotten somebody else. It didn't have to be Dr. Fauci. He's working with our administration. And for the most part, we've done pretty much what he and others ... recommended. And he's got this high approval rating, so why don't I have a high approval rating ... with respect to the virus?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As Trump sees it, since Fauci is working for the government, the goodwill shown to him should extend to the president, and he finds it "sort of curious" why Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, are "highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That's all." Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein