Trump Approval Rating: Gallup, Other Polling Services Show Historic Lows
Donald Trump’s approval rating, according to the Gallup organization and other polling services, are at historic lows, CNN is reporting.
According to Gallup’s most recent polling, just 40 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, while 55 percent disapprove. Gallup compiles their daily poll numbers based on a three-day rolling average, which means that Trump’s latest approval rating was compiled Saturday.
That 15-point spread between the number of those approving of Trump’s job as president and those disapproving of his performance is the highest it’s been since Trump took office in January.
By comparison, Trump’s approval rating is lagging far behind that of the two previous presidents by this time in their presidencies. By mid-February of his first term in office, for example, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all had approval ratings in the 50 percent range.
The news isn’t all bad when it comes to Trump’s approval ratings, according to AOL. Another polling agency, Rasmussen, paints a slightly better picture of Trump’s approval ratings, although it’s far from ideal. Rasmussen’s Trump approval rating is 55 percent — significantly higher than the 40 percent figure reported by Gallup. Nevertheless, even Rasmussen’s polling shows a steep slide in Trump’s approval rating: it was at its highest, 59 percent, a few days after his inauguration, before sliding seven points to 52 percent before recovering slightly to 52 percent.
For his part, Trump has refused to accept his low approval numbers: in a tweet last week, Trump suggested that reports of his low approval ratings are “fake news.”
Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017
Five Thirty Eight writer Nathaniel Rakich believes that Rump’s low approval rating could spell doom for the Republicans in 2018.
“Trump’s historic unpopularity provides a glimmer of hope to Democrats, who are currently shut out of power in every elected division of the federal government. ‘Maybe, just maybe,’ the thinking goes, ‘a backlash to Trump’s policies could jump-start a Democratic wave that could flip control of Congress in 2018.'”
As for why Trump is getting such low approval ratings, the answer will depend almost entirely upon whom you ask. AOL writer William Steakin believes that it has to do with how quickly Trump is moving on implementing his campaign promises, via executive order. Specifically, Steakin believes that Americans are weary of how quickly Trump is moving on implementing his campaign agenda. And at least two of Trump’s executive orders — the Muslim travel ban and the Mexico border wall — were not only met with intense public backlash, but appear to be in danger now that the regular processes of governance have taken over.
In the case of the proposed border wall, it appears that Congress isn’t as eager to proceed with the proposed $14 billion project, and Republicans have raised doubts about providing funding for it, according to The Week. And in the case of the travel ban on Muslims from certain nations, Federal Judge James Robart issued a temporary stay of Trump’s order, effectively nullifying the order until the matter can be fully settled in the courts, according to the New York Post.
Robart’s decision caused Trump to go into an angry Twitter tirade in which he called Robart a “so-called judge” and vowed that the order will be overturned.
The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
What do you think is the reason behind Trump’s historically low approval ratings?
[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
