So here's a thing that happened late Thursday night: President Donald Trump was flying on Air Force One, scrolling through his phone, and decided to have another one of those moments. You know the kind—where he sees something on TV that bothers him and immediately takes to Truth Social to vent. This time, the target was Jessica Tarlov, a Democratic strategist and co-host on Fox News's The Five.
Trump didn't hold back. He called Tarlov "one of the least attractive and talented people on all of television" and accused her of making up poll numbers. He insisted his approval ratings were actually great—"I have among the best poll numbers," he claimed—and dismissed her commentary as "fake." It's the classic Trump playbook: attack the messenger, question their credibility, and throw in a personal jab for good measure.
What set this off? Earlier in the day, Tarlov had been on air discussing Trump's polling numbers. She pointed out that several surveys showed his approval hovering around 35%, and she argued that some of his key policies weren't exactly winning over the public. We're talking about tariffs, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and even a proposed White House ballroom—apparently, none of these are polling particularly well with the broader electorate.
And here's the thing: the data kinda backs her up. A recent YouGov survey conducted with The Economist found Trump's approval at 38%, with a majority of respondents disapproving of his performance. So it's not like she was pulling numbers out of thin air. But in Trump-world, any criticism is fake news, and any critic is fair game for a late-night social media roasting.
Tarlov didn't just take it lying down. She fired back on X, saying the numbers were "far from fake" and used the moment to plug her upcoming book. Because why not turn a presidential attack into a marketing opportunity? The whole exchange quickly blew up online, which is pretty much what happens anytime Trump decides to pick a fight with a journalist.
This isn't exactly new behavior, by the way. Trump has a long history of targeting journalists—especially women—with personal insults when they criticize him. He's gone after reporters' competence, their appearance, you name it. Media advocates and political opponents have called him out on it repeatedly, but it doesn't seem to slow him down.
In the same Truth Social post, Trump also took shots at conservative commentators Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Candace Owens, claiming—without any evidence—that their audiences were shrinking. It's like he was just working through his list of people who've annoyed him recently.
So what's the takeaway here? On one level, it's just another day in the life of Donald Trump's social media feed. But on another level, it's a reminder of how he engages with the media: personally, aggressively, and always on his own terms. Whether it moves the needle on his actual approval ratings is another question entirely.
