One 77-year-old lifelong Republican says she has reached a breaking point with her party—and Donald Trump.
The 77-year-old, who identified herself as Melanie, told SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show that she’s “always been very conservative” and had “never voted for a Democrat in my life.”
That has changed during Trump’s second term.
Melanie said she remained a Trump supporter until he appointed Pam Bondi as attorney general at the beginning of his second term.
From that point, Melanie said, the situation went “way downhill.”
Trump fired Bondi in April amid anger over her handling of the Epstein files, after she claimed early in her tenure that she had an Epstein “client list” and suggested it would soon be released. No such list was ever made public.
The episode appears to have deepened Melanie’s frustration with the Republican Party. She said she no longer saw much point in remaining loyal to a party she felt had failed her.
“We’re just, as a country, we’re just screwed because it doesn’t matter who you vote for. It does not matter,” Melanie said.
She said she now sees two options: not voting at all or crossing party lines and voting for the Democrats.
“It just doesn’t matter,” she said. “And I’m so pissed at the Republicans that I just might go and vote straight-ticket Democrat just because, just because. Why should I be loyal to them? We’re just so screwed.”
Melanie made clear that her anger was directed at her own party, reiterating that she is “mad at Republicans.”
Her frustration boiled down to one repeated conclusion: “We’re just screwed. We’re just screwed no matter what.”
Host Emily Jashinsky responded that she believed “there are so many people like you out there.”
And Jashinsky may be correct. Trump’s approval rating has sunk to an all-time low in the past few months, reaching the low 30s.
His approval has been tanking since he began his war with Iran in February without congressional authorization.
The war, which has led to skyrocketing energy prices and rising inflation numbers, has proven deeply unpopular.
The latest CNN/SSRS poll showed that just 26 percent of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict, down from 33 percent a month after the war began.
The decline is even evident among Republicans. In March, 73 percent approved of Trump’s handling of Iran. That figure has since fallen to 60 percent.
As the war has grown increasingly unpopular, polling has found mounting opposition to Trump even among Republicans.
The CNN/SSRS poll showed that strong approval among GOP voters has fallen to 35 percent, down from 66 percent in September 2018.
Meanwhile, half of Republicans said they disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation, while 59 percent say the Iran war has harmed their finances.
In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump’s approval rating among Republicans slid from 82 percent to 73 percent in the space of just a week.
The same poll showed that for the first time, Republicans who disapprove of Trump’s cost-of-living record outnumber those who approve, by 51 percent to 44 percent.
That presents a serious political challenge ahead of the midterms, with the economy topping the list of issues voters say will shape their decisions on Nov. 3.
And polls are showing signs of a bleak midterm showing for the GOP.
The CNN/SSRS poll showed that the national congressional ballot gives Democrats an eight-point lead, 49 percent to 41 percent.
Meanwhile, a midterm-high 44 percent of registered voters say their congressional vote will be a message of opposition to the president.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
