Donald Trump celebrated new employment figures with a boast about his popularity among women—but the president’s triumphant message immediately collided with polling showing that female voters are rapidly turning against him.

The 80-year-old president shared a brief article on Truth Social reporting that women had secured almost all the net employment growth recorded since December 2024.

His accompanying message was unmistakably confident.

“No wonder they like me!!!” Trump wrote.

There was just one enormous problem: the jobs figures did not measure whether women liked Trump—and several recent surveys suggested that many decidedly did not.

The contradiction transformed what was intended as a political victory lap into another uncomfortable reminder of the widening gender gap threatening Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

What the Employment Numbers Actually Show

Trump shared a report from the right-leaning outlet Just the News, which cited an article published by the Daily Wire.

The underlying analysis came from Mike Konczal, director of the Economic Security Project, who examined Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

According to his calculations, cumulative payroll employment among women had increased by approximately 765,000 since December 2024. Employment among men, meanwhile, had declined slightly—by about 6,000—over the same period.

That means women accounted for nearly all net payroll growth during the period. It does not, however, establish why that happened, prove that Trump personally caused it or reveal how those workers intend to vote.

The figures could also be read less triumphantly: women gained positions while employment among men remained essentially stagnant.

Most importantly, employment statistics are not approval ratings.

Trump nevertheless converted the data into a claim about personal affection, apparently assuming that women entering or remaining in employment would credit him politically.

Polling tells a far more troubling story.

Women’s Approval of Trump Plunges

ActiVote’s monthly polling reportedly found that Trump’s net approval among female voters dropped from minus 16 in June to minus 30 in August.

According to Newsweek’s account of the results, his standing with women declined across three consecutive surveys.

YouGov’s polling painted a similarly bleak picture. On August 31, only 33.9 percent of female voters approved of Trump’s handling of his second term—down sharply from 42.6 percent in January 2025.

A separate national survey of women conducted by Christine Matthews of Bellwether Research and Consulting found Trump’s approval at just 32 percent. Even among women who previously voted for him, one in four reportedly said they now disapproved of his performance.

“When I look at those numbers, I am seeing sirens,” Matthews told Politico.

The warning matters because women could play a decisive role in determining control of Congress. Matthews also found Democratic women showing greater enthusiasm about voting than Republican women—another danger sign for GOP candidates already nervous about Trump’s national standing.

The Economy Is Driving the Anger

The same Bellwether survey found that 38 percent of respondents considered the economy and cost of living the country’s most important issue.

That helps explain why a headline about women obtaining jobs may not produce the political gratitude Trump apparently expected.

Having a job does not necessarily mean feeling financially secure. Voters can be employed while still struggling with housing costs, groceries, health care, childcare, debt and other household expenses.

Matthews said some women abandoning Trump had supported him in 2024 because they believed he would tackle inflation and the rising cost of living. Those same concerns were now fueling their dissatisfaction.

In other words, the president may be celebrating one favorable statistic while overlooking the broader financial anxiety shaping voters’ daily lives.

A Long History of Attacking Women

Trump’s latest boast also arrives against the backdrop of his repeated public attacks on female journalists and celebrities.

In November, he snapped “Quiet, piggy” at Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey while she questioned him about the Epstein files.

He has repeatedly instructed CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins to smile, including during exchanges involving Jeffrey Epstein and his victims. Collins responded that questions about a sex trafficker and sexual-assault victims were hardly an appropriate occasion for smiling.

Trump has also used demeaning nicknames and appearance-based insults against New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Katie Rogers.

His long-running feud with Rosie O’Donnell has included descriptions such as “fat pig,” “total slob” and “animal.”

Those episodes do not by themselves determine how every woman will vote. But they complicate any attempt to portray Trump as broadly admired by female voters—particularly when multiple polls already indicate the opposite.

The president saw employment growth among women and concluded that it proved they liked him.

The polling suggests a much harsher reality: women may be working, but growing numbers of them are not giving Trump the credit—and many appear increasingly ready to punish his party at the ballot box.