A new poll reveals that nearly 2 in 3 Americans believe President Donald Trump is using his time in office to enrich himself, marking a significant shift in public opinion. This data, published by The Washington Post, shows that the most notable increase in this belief comes from Republican-leaning voters.
Among Republicans and independents who lean Republican, 34 percent now believe he is enriching himself, which is a jump from 22 percent in September 2025. Meanwhile, Democrats and those who lean toward the party remain consistent, with 92 percent expressing this view. Independents who do not lean toward either party hold steady at a high level of 72 percent.
This shift matches recent findings from a Fox News poll released on October 8. That data indicates that government corruption is the top concern for a supermajority of voters, with 88 percent expressing concern and 60 percent saying they are extremely concerned. The other primary issues identified by voters, such as inflation, gas prices, government leadership, and healthcare, are all tied to economic stability.
It seems the long-held assumption that President Trump is untouchable regarding corruption may be fading
The data suggests that the political strategy of separating economic struggles from presidential corruption might be flawed. Critics like Chris Lehmann and David Sirota have argued that voters connect their own financial hardships to the wealth accumulation happening in the White House. This perspective is gaining traction among Democratic candidates who are now linking these two issues directly in their messaging.
On October 10, it was reported that Democrats are leaning hard into anti-corruption messaging as they head into the final weeks of the campaign. The goal is to show how personal enrichment at the top affects the affordability crisis for regular people. Senate candidate Josh Turek in Iowa recently stated, “We have a corruption crisis in this country, and it is leading to an affordability crisis.”
Other candidates are echoing this sentiment across the country. James Talarico in Texas noted, “We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis.” During a rally on October 12, Jon Ossoff in Georgia said, “The Mar-a-Lago mafia really has taken American corruption to spectacular new heights. This corruption is why nothing works for ordinary people.”
These developments suggest a change in how political campaigns approach the topic of ethics in government. For a long time, the prevailing wisdom was that voters were only focused on their own bank accounts and that corruption was a secondary issue for elites. The current polling data seems to indicate that voters are increasingly viewing these topics as interconnected.
Published: Oct 20, 2026 05:00 am