As the government shutdown continues with millions of Americans losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and federal employees going without pay forcing many to turn to food banks, President Donald Trump's focus on foreign policy and building a ballroom is causing supporters and Republicans to question his priorities, according to NBC News.
The shutdown, NBC reports, is compounding problems that have intensified "broader anxiety over an economy that in recent months has been marked by lingering high prices for many consumer goods, rough jobs numbers, mass layoffs at major companies — including Amazon and Target — and an uptick in inflation."
Recent polls show that a majority of Americans disapprove of President Trump's handling of the economy, with approval ratings generally falling in the range of 37 percent to 41 percent and disapproval ratings around 57 percent to 62 percent. His economic approval numbers are currently the lowest of his second term in office.
Republicans, NBC says, are sounding the alarm about this "bleak" outlook, but are afraid to tell Trump the truth.
“No one wants to tell the president he’s losing on the economy,” according to a Republican strategist who said they recently warned the White House about their concerns.
Despite that, some Republicans are still optimistic.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) says that despite the numbers and the millions of Americans relying on food banks, "the state of the economy is very strong."
NBC notes that many Republicans are intentionally remaining silent about the abysmal state of Trump's economy.
"Republicans running in swing House seats across the country, however, have not been eager to talk about Trump’s economy," they note.
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the fact that Americans are suffering, but blames the Democrats despite Republicans having control of the House, the Senate and the White House.
"The unfortunate reality — and we’re starting to see this with our aviation industry — we’re going to find out the hard way with SNAP benefits, the American people are already suffering, and the suffering is going to get a lot worse,” Vance said.
Betty Szretter, a Republican and former Trump supporter who now regrets her vote and told NBC she will vote for a Democrat. blames the president.
“I think deep down he wants to help the country with things like food insecurity,” she said. “But now he is busy out of the country and demolishing the White House. I know that is being paid for with private funds, but those could be used to help people.”
“It all seems very selfish,” she added.