Trump called his low approval ratings "fake" and started talking about victory
U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed reports of his low approval ratings and called them “fake.” In an interview with TIME, he claimed he could beat any candidate by 20 points and accused pollsters of corruption. Trump also spoke about the economy and stated that the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. is growing.
The interview took place on September 28 at the White House, and the full transcript was published on October 1. Among other things, journalists asked the president about the results of polls ahead of the midterm congressional elections. A reporter noted that Trump’s approval ratings are currently at their lowest level. In response, the president disputed those figures. “Those are fake numbers. I’d beat anyone running today by 20 points. Your numbers are fake. Pollsters are corrupt. They’re almost as corrupt as journalists,” Trump said.
After that, reporters asked whether his own pollsters were reporting higher numbers. Trump replied that he had heard from John McLaughlin—whom he called a good pollster—about significantly higher results. “I don’t ask him. I’m not running, but they said John McLaughlin is a good pollster. You see, things are going very well for me. That’s what I think,” said the U.S. president.
Trump then shifted the conversation to the economy. He stated that the current U.S. economy is strong, singling out manufacturing in particular. “Look, we have the strongest economy. We have the strongest manufacturing economy. Everyone said you’d never have jobs, and that you’d never have, you know, manufacturing jobs. We’re creating more manufacturing jobs than at any time in our country’s history,” Trump said.
He also spoke about the construction of new factories. According to the president, this isn’t just about companies involved in artificial intelligence. “Can you even imagine what’s happening? Do you know how many factories have been built? And I’m not talking about artificial intelligence. I’m talking about auto plants, Pfizer, Merck, Lilly. They’re all coming back,” Trump said.
Trump attributed the return of manufacturing to the U.S. to tariffs. According to him, companies are interested in moving production back to the country to avoid paying import duties. At the same time, Trump’s claims about the economy and manufacturing jobs are his own assessment. TIME published a separate article fact-checking other statements the president made during this interview.
The conversation with TIME took place about five weeks before the U.S. midterm elections. Journalists also asked Trump whether he expected the Democrats to take control of Congress. The president replied that, in his opinion, Republicans could do well in the election if he campaigned actively. “If I campaign for the people, those people will win,” he said.
In doing so, Trump did not acknowledge his low approval ratings and cast doubt on the poll results. He backed up his position with statements about the economy and manufacturing, and also said that, in his opinion, if an election were held now, he would be able to beat any candidate by 20 points. However, this is merely Trump’s own assessment, not the result of a specific poll. Donald Trump commented on his approval ratings in an interview with TIME magazine.
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