--- source_url: https://kioncentralcoast.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/05/06/fact-check-no-trump-doesnt-have-a-100-approval-rating-among-republicans/ --- Fact check: No, Trump doesn’t have a 100% approval rating among Republicans By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump keeps touting a poll that was discussed on CNN in March. On Tuesday, though, Trump wrongly described that poll in three different ways. Trump has repeatedly mentioned a March 18 television [segment](https://x.com/ForecasterEnten/status/2034294893929968050) featuring CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten, who explained that an [NBC News poll](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/poll-majority-voters-disapproves-trump-handled-iran-rcna261564) had found that the president had a 100% approval rating among supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Trump liked the segment so much that he [had a video of it played](https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-saudi-investment-conference-florida-march-27-2026/) during a late-March speech. That’s understandable. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, though, Trump said this: “I am at, according to CNN, 100% approval within the Republican Party … I’m at 100% approval. Did you see the CNN poll? Nobody talks about it. CNN – I think the people that did that poll probably got fired. But within the Republican Party – and MAGA, which is basically 100% of the party, I think, but – 100%.” There are three false claims in those brief remarks. The poll in question wasn’t a CNN poll, MAGA is not “basically 100% of the party,” and Trump’s approval rating with Republicans is far from 100% – and farther than it was at the beginning of the year. Here’s a more detailed fact check. The ‘100%’ result Trump is touting isn’t from a CNN poll “Nobody talks about” the CNN poll Trump was describing because it doesn’t exist: Enten’s segment was about [an NBC News poll](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/poll-majority-voters-disapproves-trump-handled-iran-rcna261564). (It’s possible that the president was genuinely confused on this point given that the segment aired on CNN.) The [most recent CNN/SSRS poll](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27964261-cnn-poll-conducted-by-ssrs-trump-approval-economy/), conducted from March 26 to 30, found Trump at 80% approval among Republicans. MAGA is not ‘basically 100% of the party’ There’s no doubting that Trump retains a devoted base of supporters and that he [continues to wield formidable influence](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/05/politics/takeaways-indiana-ohio-primary-elections) within the Republican Party. But poll after poll has made clear that the MAGA movement is not close to the “basically 100%” of the party that Trump said he thinks it is. The [NBC News poll](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27777984-nbc-news-march-2026-poll-03-08-2024-release-final/) Enten was talking about, conducted from February 27 to March 3 by Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies, found that 42% of the registered voters surveyed identified as Republican or Republican-leaning, while 30% of the registered voters surveyed identified as supporters of the MAGA movement. So MAGA supporters likely made up a strong majority of Republicans and Republican-leaners in this poll, but not all of them. In a [subsequent NBC News poll](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28059029-nbc-news-decision-desk-poll-march-2026-topline/?q=maga&mode=document#document/p13) conducted with SurveyMonkey from March 30 to April 13, which asked different questions than the previous poll, 53% of the self-identified Republicans surveyed said they were more a supporter of MAGA than the Republican Party, but 47% said they were more a supporter of the party than MAGA. And in a [Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll](https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f7336b89-3d59-4df1-a322-60abcf0b2477.pdf?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) conducted from April 24-28, 54% of the Republicans and Republican-leaners surveyed said they were supporters of the MAGA movement, but 43% said they were not MAGA supporters. Sixty-five percent of the Republicans and Republican-leaners surveyed said Republican leaders should follow Trump’s leadership, but 34% said they should lead the party in a different direction; that was a change from a February poll, when the split was 71% for the follow-Trump option to 28% for the different-direction option. Trump isn’t at 100% with Republicans – and he’s been slipping Trump’s approval with Republicans remains high. But it’s certainly not 100%, and multiple pollsters have found it has declined at least slightly over the course of 2026 as he has become [more and more unpopular with the broader public](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/05/politics/trump-approval-rating-analysis-vis). Here’s a sample of the changes pollsters have [found](https://www.cnn.com/polling/approval/trump-polls) since January. – Again, the [most recent CNN/SSRS poll](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27964261-cnn-poll-conducted-by-ssrs-trump-approval-economy/), conducted from March 26-30, found Trump at 80% approval among Republicans. It was 87% in a [CNN/SSRS poll](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26490187/cnn-poll-on-trump-at-one-year.pdf) in January. – The [most recent Pew Research Center poll](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/05/01/trump-loses-ground-on-several-personal-traits-as-approval-rating-slips/), conducted from April 20-26, found Trump at 68% approval among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. It was 73% in a [Pew poll in January](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VkONJuHHujySkkXJmJbyd5jR-z1ZPoXG8-THGRNyJVo/edit?gid=0). – The [most recent AP-NORC poll](https://apnorc.org/projects/fewer-approve-of-trumps-handling-of-the-economy/), conducted from April 16-20, found Trump at 68% approval among Republicans and people who lean Republican. It was 81% in an [AP-NORC poll in January](https://apnorc.org/projects/fewer-want-the-u-s-to-take-an-active-role-in-global-affairs/). – The [most recent Fox News poll](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/04/fox_april-17-20-2026_national_cross-tabs_april-22-release.pdf), conducted from April 17-20, found less of a shift, with Trump at 83% approval among Republican registered voters compared to 85% in a [Fox News poll in January](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/01/fox_january-23-26-2026_national_cross-tabs_january-29-release.pdf). – The [most recent Marquette Law School poll](https://law.marquette.edu/assets/community/poll/MLSPSC31/MLSPSC31Crosstabs_NationalIssues.html#approve-trump-4-pt), conducted from April 8-16, found Trump at 78% approval among Republicans and Republican-leaners. It was 83% in a [Marquette Law School poll in January](https://law.marquette.edu/assets/community/poll/MLSPSC30/MLSPSC30Crosstabs_NationalIssues.html#trump-job-approval-4-cat). The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.