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Every good political journalist needs a good MAGA guy in their back pocket — someone you can call when things are looking messy in President Donald Trump’s GOP orbit. And my MAGA guy is John Fredericks.

Fredericks is a popular conservative radio host who goes by one of my favorite nicknames in media: the “Godzilla of Truth.” We met during the last presidential election cycle. I was immediately struck by how he seems to understand Trump’s movement from the bottom up, making sense of Trump voters and their political desires, rather than unpacking the consensus of the political establishment.

So, Fredericks is the perfect person to go to for a pulse check on Trump’s MAGA base. One year into his second term, Trump has some of the lowest recorded approval ratings in polling history. He’s collapsed in favorability among independents. And there seems to be some cracks growing in his 2024 coalition as discontent rises on issues like the economy, the Epstein files, and his deployment of ICE in Minneapolis.

Talking to John, I wanted to gut check the numbers we’ve been seeing for months. How real is the alleged backlash against Trump? And will shifting in public opinion force a change in his agenda?

Below is an excerpt of our conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.

Let’s start with you. If you could rate the Trump second term on a scale of one to 10, what would you give it?

Ten; he’s delivered on virtually every promise he’s made. The economy is booming right now. The number of refunds you’re going to get back on to be off the charts. He closed the border. We’re not getting any more illegals in. That has been done. That was a major promise. That’s been done. The one big, beautiful bill got passed. He’s put the right people in place. He hasn’t had the turnover. You haven’t had anywhere near the ridiculous leaks and backbiting in the White House that you had in Trump 1, which hampered the whole effort, etc. So, 10. I can’t think of anything it didn’t do.

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