Trump campaigns for trailing Republican Michael Whatley in North Carolina with approval rating stuck at 38 per cent

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

President Trump's approval rating has fallen to 38 per cent — the lowest midterm figure for any US president since George W. Bush was deep in the Iraq War in 2006, according to a new New York Times/Siena College poll. On Wednesday Trump rallied in Gastonia, North Carolina, in support of Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who is running 9 to 11 points behind former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper in most polls. Trump drew a comparison between Cooper and Michael Dukakis, arguing that Cooper's 2021 prison settlement — which released more than 3,500 inmates — had put dangerous offenders back onto North Carolina's streets. Cooper has positioned himself as a moderate and predicts the gap will narrow to 1 to 3 per cent by November 3.

Trump told the crowd Cooper was "worse than Dukakis" for releasing Decarlos Brown, who is charged with stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train.

Whatley's campaign faces additional scrutiny after a convicted sex offender gave an opening prayer at one of its recent rallies.