Trump Wants Pollster 'Criminals' Investigated for Fraud After Multiple Polls Reveal Dwindling Approval

President Donald Trump called for media organizations and pollsters to be investigated for "election fraud" on Monday after a series of polls showed his approval ratings plunging to historic lows.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump lashed out at The New York Times, ABC News, The Washington Post and Fox News, accusing them of producing "fake polls" that undercount his supporters.

"These people should be investigated for ELECTION FRAUD," Trump declared. "They are Negative Criminals who apologize to their subscribers and readers after I WIN ELECTIONS BIG, much bigger than their polls showed I would win, loose a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse."

Polls released over the weekend showed Trump's disapproval ratings hovering between 54% and 57%, with his net approval dropping as low as -14 points in a CNN poll — the lowest for any U.S. president at this point in their term in 20 years.

"They suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, and there is nothing that anyone, or anything, can do about it," Trump claimed of the various media outlets. "THEY ARE SICK, almost only write negative stories about me no matter how well I am doing (99.9% at the Border, BEST NUMBER EVER!), AND ARE TRULY THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!"

Trump did not clarify what "99.9% at the Border" referred to, but used the same phrase on Sunday in another post. "JUST RELEASED: 99.9% at the Border. Best number ever recorded. 3 people got in, versus hundreds of thousands in last Administration," he wrote without referencing specific data.

On Monday Border Security Czar Tom Homan shared border statistics touting a drastic reduction in illegal border crossings, however, none of the numbers shared match the ambiguous 99.9% referenced by Trump.

Trump has historically demonstrated an open hostility toward news outlets whose coverage he deems as biased against him.

In December, Trump sued a pollster who incorrectly predicted he would lose Illinois in the presidential election. A lawsuit against ABC News was settled in December, and litigation targeting CBS News is pending. Trump has also threatened legal action against journalists and media outlets that use "anonymous sources." Just last week, a Department of Labor memo warned criminal charges could be brought against federal employees who speak to the press.

His administration has moved to reshape the media landscape outside of the courtroom as well.

The White House press pool is no longer chosen by the White House Correspondents' Association, but instead hand picked by the White House press team. Hand picked media outlets and controversial influencers have been welcomed to briefings, while AP News was barred over the outlet's refusal to use "Gulf of America" in its international reporting.

Trump placed the entire staff of Voice of America on leave in March, and in February, coordinated with DOGE to terminate media contracts providing news to government agencies.