This was a comeback week of sorts for President Donald Trump.
He showed in his trip to the United Kingdom that it’s better — and more important — being president than king. The Federal Reserve finally listened and cut rates. And his top late-night critic, Jimmy Kimmel, got himself suspended for crossing a line of decency.
The result was that in some polls, Trump stopped sinking and in others showed that his comeback is real after weeks of faux scandals, such as the Jeffrey Epstein affair, that had dragged him down. Rasmussen Reports said Trump ended the week with a 53% approval rating, right where he was on the day he was inaugurated, and his MAGA base is back on board.
On Sunday, he is expected to talk directly to them when he headlines the funeral of friend and ally Charlie Kirk, assassinated by an alleged left-wing shooter this month. Insider Steve Bannon told The Sean Spicer Show that it will be a “MAGA state funeral” where the theme will be fighting on to “victory” for the movement.
.@honestpollster – Trump Approval rebound in uncharted territory right now https://t.co/mme2q5KQES
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) September 19, 2025
Our conservative report card grader, Jed Babbin, said it was a “pretty good week” for Trump and gave the president a B-minus. Democratic pollster John Zogby noted that Trump’s polling is holding steady, but he said that he is growing concerned about the direction of the president’s policies. He graded the week a D.
Jed Babbin
Grade: B-
This was a pretty good week for President Donald Trump, with the stock market hitting record highs, another Venezuelan drug boat (hauling 75,000 pounds of cocaine) intercepted, an immigration judge ordering Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil deported, and the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates a quarter point.
There were a couple of puzzling items, such as Trump’s asking the Taliban to return the Bagram airbase to us and his declaration that antifa is a terrorist organization.
The Fed rate cut won’t help the mortgage market much but the indication that the Fed would make two more rate cuts this year will. And it might relieve some of the political pressure Trump is putting on the Fed.
Why would Trump think that the Taliban would give Bagram back to us? We’re done with Afghanistan (though perhaps we shouldn’t have been, and we certainly shouldn’t have made the disastrous Biden withdrawal), but is Trump wanting to please someone? But who? It’s impossible to tell.
Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization. Does Trump want to declare it a Foreign Terrorist Organization? That won’t work unless foreign financing can be proven.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered that all troops be clean-shaven, but that order won’t affect those with religious exemptions (Sikhs, for example, have to grow their beards) and cases of pseudofolliculitis barbae, or razor bumps. Nice try, Pete.
Perhaps the biggest news of the week was Trump’s threat to Hamas to release all the remaining Israeli hostages or all bets are off. It remains to be seen how he’ll handle Hamas when — not if — it refuses to release the hostages.
John Zogby
Grade: D
American presidents have always looked at foreign trips as a publicity gold mine. Foreign policy is their realm, and the glowing attention they receive from foreign dignitaries is priceless.
President Donald Trump struck gold in the United Kingdom this week, receiving a warm reception from King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and had a productive meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over issues involving trade, artificial intelligence, and business in general. Trump looked like a president, first lady Melania Trump was dutifully radiant, and, despite disagreement between the two nations over Ukraine and Israel, the trip was a success.
His polling numbers are still upside down but they haven’t moved. Thus, ends Phase I of my report card.
Seventy percent say that the country is headed on the wrong track, including almost half of the Republicans polled.
I don’t believe Jimmy Kimmel is a hero, and a private company is well within its purview to cancel someone who rants instead of making jokes. But I do worry a lot about the intervention of the FCC and the president calling for the silencing of his critics. I am worried about his warning to reporters not to criticize him. His mocking tone toward his critics is beyond troubling. It is dangerous. I am very concerned about frivolous lawsuits like the one against the New York Times and about regular employees who have been fired for merely expressing an opinion.
The FBI director is now labeling all transgender people as potential violent threats. That, in itself, is the real threat. Just who is next? Only one person can put a lid on this, and it isn’t the pope.
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Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on X @jedbabbin.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on X @ZogbyStrategies.
