Original article (in Croatian) was published on 23/2/2026; Author: Ivica Kristović
Velimir Bujanec’s claim that Trump is becoming increasingly popular in the United States is contradicted by data from dozens of polls jointly published by The New York Times.
On 19 February, Velimir Bujanec, former editor of the discontinued television programme TV Bujica, posted a video and a status on his Facebook profile (1, 2) in which he claims, among other things, that the popularity of U.S. President Donald Trump in the United States is rising.
The post states:
“DO NOT FALL FOR THE LIES AGAINST DONALD TRUMP AND WATCH THIS VIDEO!…
…STOP THE MEDIA HYSTERIA: All television stations in Croatia are smearing the American president, while in his own country he is becoming more and more popular?!”
Video Features Grandmother of Murder Victim
In the video shared by Bujanec, Washington resident Forlesia Cook praises Trump and disputes accusations against him, primarily claims that he is racist. Cook also spoke about her grandson, who was killed in April 2017, and whose body was found four months after the crime.
His killer, John Jabar McRae, was arrested in 2018 and sentenced in 2024 to 16 years in prison.
Bujanec writes that Cook claims that “Democrats bureaucratically and without any empathy ignored and avoided her – until a Republican sent his people to her home so that someone would finally listen to her.”
According to court reports, McRae killed 22-year-old Marty McMillan in his home after finding him there with his partner. The body was initially placed in a bedroom closet and later discarded by the roadside. It was discovered after a ten-month search.
Trump’s Approval Ratings Are Declining
Based on the video in which the victim’s grandmother praises the U.S. president, Bujanec argues that Donald Trump is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, while Croatian television stations are “smearing” him.
However, polling data in the United States indicate that Trump is not becoming more popular; rather, his approval rating has been steadily declining.
According to data published by The New York Times, which aggregates dozens of polls conducted continuously in the United States, Trump began his second term with 52 percent approval, while 43 percent disapproved of his performance.
Shortly after the beginning of his term, those figures equalised, with 48 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. By May of last year, following the announcement of tariffs on numerous countries, disapproval had risen to 53 percent, while approval had fallen to 44 percent.
Support briefly increased to 46 percent prior to the attack on Iran, after which it gradually declined to 41 percent. Following the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, approval rose to 43 percent. It subsequently dropped to 40 percent, while disapproval climbed to 56 percent. In recent days, approval has slightly increased to 41 percent.
When examining the overall trend line of Donald Trump’s approval during his second term, it shows a clear downward trajectory. At the beginning of his term in January 2025, he had 52 percent support; that figure now stands at 41 percent. Conversely, the percentage of those who disapprove of his performance has increased from 43 percent to 56 percent over slightly more than a year.
In conclusion, Velimir Bujanec’s claim that Donald Trump is becoming increasingly popular in the United States is not supported by polling data. Aggregated data from dozens of polls published by The New York Times show that the U.S. president’s approval rating has been in steady decline throughout his second term – falling from 52 percent at the beginning of the term to 41 percent today. For this reason, we rate Bujanec’s claim as partly inaccurate.
