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Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, Scott Bland breaks down the key takeaways from the latest NBC News Decision Desk Poll. Plus, we look at the backlash to President Donald Trump’s remarks about Rob Reiner after the director’s death.
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— Adam Wollner
3 things to know from the new NBC News Decision Desk Poll
Analysis by Scott Bland
The latest NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey came out Sunday, packed full of data on President Donald Trump, the economy and how Americans are feeling about their jobs, finances and health insurance right now.
Here are three big things the poll showed:
Pro-Trump intensity has waned slightly. The president’s ultra-committed base has always been one of his political strengths, but this survey showed how that commitment has declined in 2025. The share of Republicans who consider themselves part of the MAGA movement has ticked down over the course of the year, and so too has the share of MAGA believers who strongly approve of Trump’s performance, from 78% in April to 70% now. Overall, meanwhile, the share of adults who strongly disapprove of Trump (44%) far outweighs those who strongly approve (21%).
How rising prices are changing habits. A majority of adults (53%) said they’ve changed what groceries they buy amid rising prices in recent years, in order to stay within their budget. That even includes 39% of people with household incomes above $100,000. Overall, those on the wealthier end of the spectrum haven’t felt squeezed as much as those who make less money, but the chart below makes clear why voters up and down the income spectrum feel frustrated with post-Covid inflation, even if prices aren’t rising as fast as they were during the Biden administration.
People like their health insurance. Overall, 82% of adults said they’re satisfied with their health insurance. But there’s an undercurrent of discontent, because 24% said they’d had coverage on something delayed or denied by their insurer at some point in the last two years. It highlights the always-perilous politics of health care, where frustration with the status quo and uncertainty about change collide in unpredictable ways.
See the full poll results here.
🍟Related read: Trump served McDonald’s to connect with voters. Now, many feel they can’t afford it, by Peter Nicholas in Feasterville, Pa.
Trump baselessly says Rob Reiner died because he was anti-Trump, politicizing the director’s killing
By Jonathan Allen, Peter Nicholas and Henry J. Gomez
President Donald Trump faced blowback from fellow Republicans after he baselessly suggested that legendary director and actor Rob Reiner died because of Reiner’s anti-Trump views, injecting politics into the killing at a time when other conservatives expressed condolences.
Reiner, Trump wrote on Truth Social, was killed “due the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known and sometimes referred to as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Trump’s comments are not supported by currently available public information from authorities. He prefaced his allegations by saying the killings were “a very sad thing.”
Nick Reiner, the younger son of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner, has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murdering his parents after they were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles-area home. Nick Reiner has spoken publicly about his struggles with addiction and homelessness.
Several Republican lawmakers chastised Trump for emphasizing Reiner’s political views rather than the horrific nature of his death.
“This statement is wrong,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who sits in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, wrote on X. “Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period.”
Republicans who criticize Trump have long risked alienating MAGA voters, whose support will be critical to vulnerable incumbents in next year’s midterm elections. Lawler’s decision to push back on the president may suggest that he believes he is on safe ground — even with hard-core Trump voters — in expressing a contrary view on Reiner.
Two other House Republicans, both of whom have clashed with Trump in recent months, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, also blasted the president on X.
Trump later said he stood by his post when a reporter asked him about the criticism he had been receiving.
“Well, not a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person,” Trump said when taking questions in the Oval Office this afternoon, adding that Reiner “was very bad for our country.”
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- ⚫ Alleged terror plot thwarted: The Justice Department arrested four people in connection with an alleged plot to set off bombs in the Los Angeles area on New Year’s Eve, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on X. Read more →
- 👀 Tar Heel State spat: Eight months after Trump nominated him for an ambassadorship, former Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., hasn’t had a hearing. The holdup, according to sources? Walker’s fellow North Carolina Republican, Sen. Ted Budd, who ran against him for Senate three years ago. Read more →
- ➡️ Immigration agenda: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said her adult son was pulled over by ICE agents Saturday in Minnesota and asked to provide proof of citizenship. Read more →
- 📈 Rising threats: Trump’s heated rhetoric against his perceived political enemies has resulted in a blizzard of threats against at least 22 officials on both sides of the aisle in recent weeks, according to an NBC News tally. Read more →
- 🗺️ Redistricting fallout: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on “Meet the Press” that he believes mid-decade redistricting is a “mistake” by both parties that could eventually lead to more political violence. Read more →
- 📖 Redistricting fallout, cont.: Merriam-Webster’s editors chose “slop” as the word of the year, while noting that “gerrymander” was a popular search term in 2025. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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