Donald Trump Polls: Approval Rating Hits Record Low Amid Growing Russia Scandal


Donald Trump has seen a historic dip in the polls, with the president’s quickly expanding Russia scandal leading to a record low in approval ratings.

A poll this weekend from NBC News/Wall Street Journal found that just 44 percent of those surveyed approve of Trump’s performance to date, while 48 percent disapprove.

As NBC News noted, no other president has fallen so far in polls so quickly.

“Trump begins his tenure in a dramatically less popular position than any of his predecessors,” the outlet noted. “He is the only president in the history of modern polling to begin his first term with a net negative approval rating — and it’s not close.”

As the report went on to add, most other presidents have seen high ratings early on in their first term, a honeymoon of sorts when Americans are more willing to give them a chance.

“Compared to Trump’s net negative rating of -4 percent, Barack Obama began his presidency with a net positive 34 percent; George W. Bush and Bill Clinton enjoyed a similar advantage, and George H.W. Bush’s score of popular goodwill pushed even higher to a net positive of 45 percent.”

There is still a chance that Donald Trump’s poll numbers could sink even lower. As Cook Political Report analyst Amy Walter noted on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump was never exactly a popular candidate, so he comes in lacking the political capital of other presidents.

“A whole bunch of people voted for this president, not because they liked him, not because they condoned his behavior, but because they thought that he was going to be able to make a difference. You’re not going to know that in 30 days,” Walter said via the Christian Science Monitor.

While his overall poll numbers are sinking, Donald Trump remains popular among Republican voters. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 85 percent of Republicans favored Trump’s performance compared to 34 percent of independents and nine percent of Democrats.

It’s not just the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll where Donald Trump’s poll numbers are sinking, the Christian Science Monitor found.

“Overall, Trump’s job approval numbers aren’t positive. As of Monday, 44.6 percent of voters approve of what he’s doing as president, according to the RealClearPolitics average of major surveys. His disapproval is 50.5. That nets out to a negative 5.9 percent, an unprecedentedly low rating for someone who’s only been in office a few weeks.”

Donald Trump’s dip in the polls came amid a series of scandals for the controversial president. There remains the lingering question of his campaign’s possible contact with Russia during the 2016 campaign, and this week a New York Times report claimed American intelligence officials intercepted a number of contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian intelligence officials. They could not conclude if Trump’s team had any involvement in the email leaks from Russia meant to hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the report noted.

Another report from CNN claimed that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asked the FBI to speak to reporters and publicly deny an investigation. The FBI reportedly denied the request, which CNN noted was against long-established rules creating separation between the FBI and White House.

The Christian Science Monitor noted that Donald Trump’s poll numbers might sink even more quickly if the Russia scandal deepens — which it very well could. There are increasing calls on Congress to form a bipartisan investigation of Trump, with even Republican Darrell Issa calling for an investigation.

[Featured Image by Olivier Doulieryl/Getty Images]

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