A year ago they'd be kinda sorta right.
Donald's miscalculation was thinking that people supporting a mass deportation meant support for a Gestapo rebrand of ICE. Ever since LA, Chicago, Portland, and Minnesota he has been DEEPLY unpopular and the 2025 and 2026 elections (so far) represent that unpopularity well. Watching grown men chase down and tackle fifth graders and shooting people in the street pissed a lot of people off.
But yes, calling him popular now is willfully incorrect given the data we have.