{"id":222,"date":"2026-06-25T19:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:39:20","slug":"among-trumps-true-believers-on-the-national-mall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222","title":{"rendered":"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Less than six months out from the midterms, President Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating sits at an all-time low as his administration struggles to extricate the U.S. from an unpopular war in Iran and assuage affordability concerns.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin to Turn Away Asylum Seekers at the Border<\/a><\/p>\n

Given those conditions, a major question hangs over the upcoming campaign season: Does Trump still have the juice to draw the legendary crowds, an attribute that separated him from conventional politicians and cemented his status as a cultural icon? And can his endorsement decide elections in November?<\/p>\n

Political observers got something of an answer to that question Wednesday night, when 2,000 people showed up for Trump\u2019s \u201cRally to End All Rallies\u201d on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., a venue that has previously seen protests and rallies draw tens of thousands of people at a given time.<\/p>\n

The crowd of supporters, many of whom traveled to the blue city, represents the red-hot center of the MAGA movement. The true believers have remained loyal to the president after the staggering ups and downs that define Trump\u2019s decade of dominating American politics.<\/p>\n

Just 24 percent of Americans believe the war in Iran, which looks set to end on favorable terms for Tehran, was worth it, according to the latest Reuters\/Ipsos poll. Trump\u2019s approval rating has fallen from 47 percent at the start of his second term to 34 percent in the same Reuters poll. Some of that slide is no doubt the result of the basic political gravity that drags down every president as the realities of governance assert themselves. But some of the disillusionment, particularly among Trump\u2019s supporters, reflects feelings of betrayal among those who believed Trump\u2019s promise to end American involvement in foreign wars.<\/p>\n

Joe, a Marine veteran who attended Wednesday\u2019s rally, counts himself in that group.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my peer group, who were staunch Trump supporters in 2016, 2020, and 2024, all of a sudden feel like Trump\u2019s back was turned on us, and he\u2019s no longer supporting the things that we tried to put him in office for,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat I see has become another quagmire possibility in the Middle East that isn\u2019t something that benefits Americans whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s popularity among the die-hard rallygoers can\u2019t be dented by perceived policy failures, because much of it rests on his personal charisma. In the face of a Democratic Party racing further to the left, Trump represents the same bulwark they clung to in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s authentic. I can trust what he\u2019s saying directly. I don\u2019t ever have to figure it out from different people,\u201d says Nikita, a retired federal banking regulator.<\/p>\n

Read more New Fronts Open in the Election-Integrity Fight as Democrats Look to Mislead Voters<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always been the bull in the china shop, the establishment,\u201d says Allestair, a machinist who drove eighteen hours from Minnesota for the rally. \u201cWe needed somebody to go and stir things up, to fight for regular American people, and he\u2019s done that well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most feel connected to Trump through his authenticity, being outspoken, uncouth, and seemingly unfiltered. His brashness appeals to those who want to see leadership that will come in and brazenly clean house with a government that they feel isn\u2019t acting in the service of the people.<\/p>\n

For some, the policy failures of the administration are the fault, not of Trump, but of his party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a failure when SAVE America and voter ID laws aren\u2019t being pushed through the way they should be. I mean, I\u2019m hopeful, but I think that\u2019s not just Trump. That\u2019s the majority of the Republican party, you know. We gave them the presidency, the Senate, and the House, and they\u2019re not doing anything with it,\u201d Joe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a lot of congressional, particularly Senate Republicans, are blocking some of his signature pieces, like the Save America Act,\u201d says Ryan, a government worker. \u201cIt\u2019s disgraceful what John Thune is doing blocking that. So I don\u2019t blame Trump for that. \u2029I blame the limp wrists in the Senate for not having the back of their constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rallygoers such as Ryan are unconcerned by the latest polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these polls are just a snapshot in time,\u201d Ryan says. \u201cI trust the president. I trust his leadership. I think he\u2019s earned that from me. And I\u2019m willing to go with him a little bit farther down the way, as he negotiates his peace deal, as he tries to rearrange the economy. Things weren\u2019t broken in a day, and they\u2019re not gonna be fixed in a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all the enthusiasm on the lawn and the unshakeable trust in Trump\u2019s leadership, there was also the unmistakable feeling of a political movement taking one last victory lap. Many of Trump\u2019s most devoted supporters are older and have spent the better part of a decade fighting the battles of the MAGA movement while watching Trump defy every prediction of political extinction. The midterms will prove a test of Trump\u2019s influence on the many Republicans that lie outside of the rally-going right.<\/p>\n

Read more N.Y. Socialist Called for Eliminating Police, Prisons, and Israel. Now, She\u2019s Likely Headed to Congress<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Trump’s National Mall rally, loyal MAGA supporters explain why they remain committed despite slipping polls, the Iran war, and growing midterm uncertainty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAmong Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall - American Housing Transition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall - American Housing Transition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At Trump's National Mall rally, loyal MAGA supporters explain why they remain committed despite slipping polls, the Iran war, and growing midterm uncertainty.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Housing Transition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-25T19:39:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4ccdc45e963ff9df1519ca04968801ff\"},\"headline\":\"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T19:39:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222\"},\"wordCount\":899,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222\",\"name\":\"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall - American Housing Transition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T19:39:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4ccdc45e963ff9df1519ca04968801ff\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp\",\"width\":2057,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?p=222#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Housing Transition\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4ccdc45e963ff9df1519ca04968801ff\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanhousingtransition.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall - American Housing Transition","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall - American Housing Transition","og_description":"At Trump's National Mall rally, loyal MAGA supporters explain why they remain committed despite slipping polls, the Iran war, and growing midterm uncertainty.","og_url":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222","og_site_name":"American Housing Transition","article_published_time":"2026-06-25T19:39:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4ccdc45e963ff9df1519ca04968801ff"},"headline":"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall","datePublished":"2026-06-25T19:39:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222"},"wordCount":899,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222","url":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222","name":"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall - American Housing Transition","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-25T19:39:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4ccdc45e963ff9df1519ca04968801ff"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6a640a0752fc7b75bda7ac1b76d3aa8f.webp","width":2057,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=222#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Among Trump\u2019s True Believers on the National Mall"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/","name":"American Housing Transition","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4ccdc45e963ff9df1519ca04968801ff","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com"],"url":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}