Donald Trump Approval Rating: Why Is It So Low, And Why Does It Keeps Dropping?
President Donald Trump’s approval rating appears to be on a downward trajectory. But why is this the case, and why are more and more Americans seemingly disenchanted with the newly-inaugurated president?
According to a report from CBS News, one of the reasons for Trump’s approval rating drop is the ongoing controversy regarding some of the president’s officials and their contacts with Russian agents. Slightly more than half (51 percent) of Americans polled said that they are more bothered about the possibility Trump officials had talks with Russia, while 38 percent said their main concern is the chance U.S. intelligence agencies had leaked the data on the alleged communications.
CBS News noted that the chances of people saying they’re more bothered by “possible improper communications with Russia” or “leaking by the intelligence community” largely depend on their party. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats admitted to the former, while 72 percent of Republicans said that the latter bothered them more.
Generally speaking, 57 percent of Americans have no issue with the leaks, as they feel that it offers a bit of transparency regarding need-to-know information for the country as a whole. Only 37 percent said that the leaks aren’t a good thing because they jeopardize the U.S.’ national security. Like it was with the above question, 75 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents approved of the leaks, while 58 percent of Republicans disapproved.
When talking about Trump’s alleged friendly relations with Russia, 43 percent of respondents believe that the president is indeed too friendly, while 44 percent have no issue with his approach. About 80 percent of Republicans see no issue in how Trump deals with Russia, while about 75 percent of Democrats think that he’s being too friendly.
Even before his inauguration as president, Donald Trump has been perceived as being combative toward media, and one of the many questions asked in the CBS poll was how often Americans believe media is telling the truth. Only a combined 38 percent see media as being always or mostly truthful, with 13 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of Democrats feeling this way.
As far as Trump’s approval rating goes, the CBS poll has it at a rather low 39 percent, which is similar to the previous month’s rating. Close to half of respondents said that the Trump administration is “more disorganized” than previous administrations, which is contrary to how the president referred to his administration – a “fine-tuned machine.”
A recent NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll also had Trump’s approval rating at a rather low level, as a combined 43 percent of respondents are, on some level, impressed with his job performance thus far. A combined 54 percent said that they somewhat, or strongly disapprove of his performance, with an overwhelming 43 percent answering to the latter effect. Again, there was a noticeable trend based on the political affiliation of the respondents – close to 90 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaners thought positively of Trump as U.S. president, while a similar percentage of Democrats and Democrat-leaners had a negative view.
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Although Trump’s controversial words and actions as U.S. president may be among the reasons why his popularity is slipping, other surveys suggest that it’s more about what he is or isn’t as a person and as a leader.
Yesterday, the Inquisitr reported on another poll, this time from Quinnipiac University, where Donald Trump’s approval rating was shown to have declined to 38 percent. Unlike the others, this poll focused on how people see Trump’s personal traits, and it was revealed that many people do not see him as being honest or having the leadership skills required to unite a nation.
In a statement quoted by UPI, Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Tim Malloy explained why the survey points to Trump gradually losing the support of Americans.
“President Donald Trump’s popularity is sinking like a rock. He gets slammed on honesty, empathy, level-headedness, and the ability to unite. And two of his strong points, leadership and intelligence, are sinking to new lows. This is a terrible survey one month in.”
In little more than a month since his inauguration, Donald Trump has been in all sorts of controversies, from White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts” becoming a buzzword to the recent resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the above-mentioned allegations of “improper” talks with Russia. As such, Trump’s approval rating leaves a lot to be desired based on what most polls say, though there are still some, such as this one from Politico, that suggest Americans, in general, think his performance is at least satisfactory in some areas.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
