National Dashboard: Trump in Retreat

Minnesota Retreat, Greenland Collapse, Epstein Deluge

Demonstrators take part in an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota, US, on January 20, 2026 [Seth Herald/Reuters]

In most reputable polls President Trump’s approval is below 40 percent of the electorate. And it’s beginning to affect his control over the political environment. After the White House decided to surge 3,000 ICE agents into Minnesota for immigration enforcement, it had to withdraw. The debacle may have put the entire surge strategy on hold. His Davos Greenland push failed after an embarrassing display of bluster and then retreat. Finally, after months of delay and distraction, the Epstein files continue to dominate the news cycle and lead to more career retirements and removals.

President Trump’s 13 percent negative with a 42 percent approval is from the Republican-leaning RealClearPolitics. A different respected aggregator, Fifty Plus One, has him 19 points down, 38% approval to 57% disapproval.

The view grows that Speaker Johnson, so beholden to Trump, will lose his gavel in spite of efforts to change election districts and restrict turnout of Democratic voters. His majority, if the four vacancies are won by the incumbent party, would be 220 to 215 for the Democrats. Three seats will shift the majority.

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