NBC host Steve Kornacki recently took a jab at Donald Trump, putting the whole Republican Party in its place. Kornacki, who is the network’s chief data analyst, shared recent polling data that showed that the POTUS might be losing his grip on the GOP.
During the Sunday episode of Meet the Press, he revealed to anchor Kristen Welker that Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters might not be “unmovable” anymore, as previously perceived by him. Steve presented the POTUS’s recent approval rating on the big screen and explained that 2025 has been “politically a tough ending of the year for Republicans and for President Trump.”
Steve Kornacki: New poll shows cracks forming in Trump’s MAGA base https://t.co/ajbhDfEPeQ pic.twitter.com/JO9sAFXRBy
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 14, 2025
The NBC poll showed that while Trump’s approval rating was 45% back in April, it has now dropped to 42%. “His approval rating has existed in a pretty narrow range the entire time both terms he’s been in office,” said the data analyst. He explained, “I think maybe more worryingly for Trump, though, here, when you look at his approval rating—look inside his own party.”
“Now, overall it’s close to a 90% approval rating with Republicans, but the intensity, how about this? The folks who say they don’t just approve, they strongly approve,” Kornacki pointed out.
The NBC analyst then further broke down the percentage of “MAGA GOP” who “strongly approve” of the POTUS. He revealed that while it was 78% in April, it has now plummeted to a shocking 8%. Approval among more traditional Republicans fell to 35% from 38%.
“So this is really one to watch, because historically the MAGA base has been unmovable,” host Kristen Welker remarked as Steve presented the data. He then added, “Yeah, and one thing we should note on this too, Kristen, this is an online poll, this is looking at all adults, not just registered voters… but that’s significant, certainly, if that’s something you start seeing across the board.”
Support for ‘MAGA’ among Republicans is rapidly declining — NBC News poll pic.twitter.com/Rb3KmEGELs
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) December 14, 2025
“Do you identify more with MAGA, or with just the Republican Party itself?” Kornacki asked viewers, noting varied responses online.
“Epstein files, bombing Iran, war with Venezuela, no deportations, and more immigrants have something to do with it,” one X (formerly Twitter) user noted, explaining the reason behind the sudden drop in Trump’s approval rating.
“We could have just skipped all of this. What did you guys think was gonna happen??” another asked. A third added, “The Trump era may be coming to an end much faster than anyone imagined.”
“This is bad. I don’t think we are returning to ‘traditional Republican’ despite what this graph shows. I think after MAGA, it will be something even worse,” one user noted. “Watching the fall of MAGA in real time. I’m terrified to see what takes its place,” wrote another.
