Voters will put up with a lot from Trump, but not a tanking economy

President Trump has crossed that traditional marker of 100 days in office. So, how much chaos are Americans willing to tolerate if their money is in the crosshairs?

Yes, the MAGA faithful — the ones who would jump off a cliff if the president told them to take a flying leap — are unshakable. Maybe they make up 25 percent of his base.

But the real story is with the broader coalition that put Trump in office — folks who weren’t necessarily obsessed with him, just tired of being ignored. They didn’t show up for the circus; they showed up because they liked the promise: secure the border, shrink government, stop the “woke” madness and put America first again.

Give Trump credit. He has pretty much shut down the Southern border — illegal immigration went from a flood under former President Joe Biden to a trickle now. And DEI is on the run.

But Trump has problems: Americans have lost faith in his ability to handle the economy — and maybe more important, they’ve lost faith in the man himself. A bunch of new polls put his approval numbers in the low 40s — historically low numbers for a president’s first 100 days.

If that sounds bad, a new Axios poll finds that a majority of Americans — 52 percent — believe Trump is a “dangerous dictator” who poses a threat to democracy. And that’s not only coming from the usual suspects — Democrats who are always yelling about how Trump is a menace to society, and sometimes comparing him to the Nazi with that stupid little mustache. Yes, according to the poll, 87 percent of Democrats believe Trump is a “dangerous dictator” — but, more important, 56 percent of independent voters believe the same thing.

But here’s where Trump might want to start paying attention: According to the Washington Post, their latest poll finds “A whopping 72 percent — including 51 percent of Republicans — say it’s at least ‘somewhat’ likely that Trump’s economic policies will lead to a recession.”

Voters will tolerate a lot of ranting and raving from the president — that is, until money, the true litmus test, comes into play. When Trump won in 2024, the markets rallied. Wall Street was optimistic, on Nov. 5, yet the S&P 500 is actually down more than 3 percent (as of yesterday's opening bell) since he won. In fact, under Trump, the stock market has had its worst start to a presidential term since 1974, when Gerald Ford took over after the resignation of Richard Nixon.

So, if you’re a suburban voter who held his nose and voted for Trump because you liked his promises about “making America wealthier again,” but now your 401(k) is shrinking faster than a wool sweater in a hot wash, you start asking yourself: Was electing Trump worth it?

Tariffs may sound patriotic — hit China where it hurts and all that — but they’re still taxes: on companies, consumers and, ultimately, the financial markets. They drive up prices and drive down profits. That’s not conservative economics — that’s economic roulette.

And the attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell? Pure theater. The Fed is an independent agency and isn’t supposed to take orders from someone who thinks monetary policy is just another episode of “The Apprentice.” Markets crave stability, not rants on social media. When investors feel like they’re on a rollercoaster, they bail. And when they bail, the economy follows.

So if a recession rolls in and Democrats ride the wave into the midterms, Trump’s coalition may start to crack. Republican profiles in cowardice in Congress — the ones who go along with just about everything he says and does, fearing retribution if they don’t — may decide to jump ship. Alienating voters is not a good way to stay in office. So if the economy is heading south, by next year a lot of Republicans may find a backbone and start looking out for Number One — and for a change, that won’t be Trump.

The MAGA base will stick with him no matter what. But soft supporters, the independents, the reluctant voters? They’ll disappear faster than Trump can type “witch hunt” on Truth Social. One sliver of good news for the president: At the moment, Democrats are even less popular than he is.

As for the Trump legacy — that gets rewritten, too. Instead of being the president who restored strength and stood up to the establishment, he risks being remembered as the man who let his ego hijack the economy.

In the end, Americans, as I say, can tolerate a lot. But when bad policy hits their wallets, patience runs out fast.

Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award-winning writer and journalist. He is the author of five books and publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Substack page. Follow him @BernardGoldberg.