Cygnal's Pulse Pod Ep. 77 - AOC More Popular than Schumer, Trump Image Improving, GOP Decimating Dems on Key Issue Trust: NVT Poll w/ Pollsters Brent Buchanan and John Rogers - Join us for the latest episode of Cygnal's Pulse Pod as we dive into the most recent political trends and public opinion shifts that are reshaping America's political landscape. Our data-driven analysis reveals some surprising developments that you won't want to miss.

Highlights:

First 100 Days: despite complete saturation of negative news coverage (92%), President Trump and Congressional Republicans outpace Democrats’ favorability/trust maintaining an edge on multiple key issues – on the economy (R+2), cost of living (R+2), illegal immigration (R+25), crime and public safety (R+13), cutting waste/spending (R+18), and foreign affairs (R+2). Married women (8%), union members (10%), and Hispanics (4%) also all swung to the GOP since April. 
AOC vs. Schumer: fresh off the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, AOC’s favorables (39% fav., 40% unfav.) versus that of Senator Chuck Schumer’s (33% fav., 49% unfav.) highlight not just a potential contentious Democratic primary battle for the senator’s seat in 2026, but accentuated ideological battles within the party. Add in that former President Obama, now eight years removed from office, is still seen as the leader (13%) of the Democratic Party, dominating all others like Schumer (10%), Harris (7%), Booker (6%), AOC (5%), and Jeffries (5%) – with most voters (33%) saying they were unsure of who the leader is. 
Above All Else: 52 percent of voters said President Trump should focus the most on reducing the costs of living. No other issue comes even half as close with cutting wasteful spending (21%), bringing jobs back to America (18%), securing the border (18%) and deporting dangerous illegals (18%).
Negotiate Everything: 58 percent support President Trump’s attempts to renegotiate trade deals with foreign countries, including 63% of swing voters. Additionally, 48 percent of voters support increasing tariffs on China as a way to force better trading terms for the United States.  
DOGE Disconnect: 21 percent of voters want President Trump to focus on cutting government spending while DOGE, the entity largely in charge of this endeavor, has an underwater image of 48 unfavorable versus 44 percent favorable. This represents a messaging opportunity for the White House to showcase DOGE’s right-sizing of the federal government.  