Americans are calling Trump back home to focus on domestic issues

President Donald Trump’s foreign adventures have the “America First” crowd irritated as they perceive the commander-in-chief as subordinating domestic interests to his international agenda.

Much of the media attention during Trump’s first year in office has highlighted his efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, his support for Israel and attempts to end the Gaza conflict, and his ongoing trade negotiations with nearly every nation on Earth. Trump is currently in South Korea as part of a broader Asia trip and is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Dinner table politics are what count, pollsters say

“You are never going to convince Americans that whatever is going on in Israel or whatever is going on in Eastern Europe is more important than whether or not they can afford eggs at the grocery store,” pollster Richard Baris said this week on Steve Bannon’s "War Room." “They want you to refocus all of your efforts on the domestic economy.”

“We all understand how much the president’s role is steeped in foreign policy,” he added. “But the bottom line here is, they elected him for the domestic agenda… and if they don’t hear this message soon, it’s gonna get even less pretty than it is right now.”

Trump currently enjoys a 45.1% approval rating in the RealClearPolitics polling average. A further 51.8% disapprove of his job performance. On the economy overall, he stands at 41.0% approval and 54.4% approval. He fares particularly poorly on inflation, earning a mere 35.8% approval and a 62.5% disapproval rating in the same metric.

Baris pointed to his own data showing that 51.7% of Americans believe Trump is too focused on foreign affairs. Only 18.3% believe he is too focused on domestic issues while 30.0% believe he has balanced them appropriately. He further pointed to the growing prominence of Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as a “warning” that “we’re gonna get populism, one way or another.”

“This is something the Republican Party also has to come to grips with,” he added.

Rasmussen Reports on Wednesday found Trump having 45% support and 53% disapproval in their daily tracking poll. Pollster Mark Mitchell further indicated that the survey found him -22% with independents. Baris corroborated Mitchell’s findings, saying “Yep, we got him -28 with independents. 44% strongly disapprove as of last night.”

The “America First Globalist”

It’s not merely pollsters who have noticed the trend. Axios ran a headline earlier this month titled “Donald Trump: America First globalist.” The article featured commentary from a Trump advisor saying, “I'd be lying if I said none of us wish he would talk a little more about the economy and things back home."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for her part, told the outlet that "[i]t's a revolving door at the White House of foreign leaders when Americans are, you know, screaming from their lungs.”

The Axios article also highlighted Trump’s exceptionally busy week in mid-October, during which he visited Israel and Egypt, and met with the leaders of Ukraine and Argentina. He also confirmed authorized military actions in Venezuela. Axios also featured commentary from Republican pollster Adam Geller, who insisted that Trump “didn't lose anybody because of his focus on foreign policy or not talking about the economy for a week."

Young conservatives more concerned about domestic issues

Trump’s support among younger voters has also fallen to a notable degree, with many younger, more conservative-minded voters expressing frustration with his apparent devotion to foreign conflicts at the expense of the domestic concerns they prioritize.

A recent Economist/YouGov survey showed a cataclysmic drop in support for Trump among 18-29-year-olds, with his favorability falling by more than 50 points in that age bracket since his inauguration. The same survey showed voters decisively favor reining in foreign aid, with 44% supporting a reduction compared to 21% who favored an increase. He was also 12 points underwater on foreign policy.

“America First Republicans can not vote for regular Republicans that don’t put America first. Are you serious about realizing America First? Or are you just paying lip service to it?” said right-wing provocateur Nick Fuentes this week. “Or are you content to let the country continue fighting Israel’s wars and then complain about it on Twitter […] throw your arms up and then act exasperated when he brings us to war in Iran?”

Fuentes has long been a fringe figure of the conservative movement who carved a niche for himself as an Israel-skeptic and critic of the GOP establishment. To be sure, Fuentes did not support Trump in 2024 due to his fears that Trump would prioritize Israeli interests and potentially trigger an Iranian conflict, and Fuentes has earned the wrath of the Anti-Defamation League, who calls him "a white supremacist leader."

Nonetheless, Fuentes has increasingly achieved mainstream appeal, especially with young men — who as a bloc voted for Trump in historic numbers — holding a mounting frustration with America’s relationship with Israel. Nevertheless, despite Trump's growing popularity with young men, mounting polling data suggests that the bloc may be alienated by Trump's foreign focus.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.