Mike Pence Approval Ratings Tank As Republican Voters Leave In Droves

Donald Trump approval ratings continue to nosedive which is no longer astonishing news. But in a day where talks of Trump impeachment are an everyday occurrence, all eyes are on Vice President Mike Pence and his ability to lead a nation. Unfortunately, Mike Pence’s approval ratings are not much better than Donald Trump’s, and Republicans are beginning to weigh other options.

Conservative outlet Rasmussen Reports puts Donald Trump’s approval rating today as less than 50 percent, at 48 percent. Donald Trump immediately tweeted that poll, leading the Washington Post to note, “Trump takes a moment to brag that less than half the country thinks he’s doing a good job.”

Rasmussen Reports does not post approval ratings of the vice president. However, a recent Fox News poll shows bad news for Vice President Mike Pence.

Donald Trump’s approval rating is hovering around the 40 percent mark and is 40 percent in a new Fox News poll. This is down five points from an April poll by Fox News. But the most telling information from this poll on how the American public is feeling right now reflects on the vice president.

The Fox News poll was taken from a pool that included 45 percent Democrats, 38 percent Republican, and 18 percent Independents. Traditionally, Fox News airs experts that favor the Trump Administration or speak highly of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. But the latest poll says Americans are losing faith.

Vice President Mike Pence has seen an eight-point loss and is down from a 50 percent approval rating in April to a 42 percent approval rating today. That means that Vice President Pence is seen as unfavorable overall as the president. That’s not good in a world where a Trump impeachment discussion starts every day, as Pence would be the next in line for the Oval Office in the event of an impeachment before the end of Donald Trump’s term.

Donald Trump has notoriously been the subject of many protests since he took office. But so too has Mike Pence. In this demonstration below, Mike Pence is protested when he visited Ohio.

In this latest Fox News poll, only 42 percent approve of the job that Mike Pence is doing, and 43 percent disapprove.

In the same poll, 79 percent of respondents said they had confidence in the FBI overall, specifically related to the current investigation into the Trump Russia scandal plaguing the White House. Mike Pence has been implicated in that scandal at least peripherally after it was revealed that Mike Flynn did not disclose a conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Mike Pence said he didn’t know anything about that. But he also said he didn’t know anything about Mike Flynn receiving money from Turkey when that news came out in March of this year. But Mike Pence did know, as he had received a letter from the House Oversight Committee on November 18 of last year about the very matter.

But this year, Mike Pence told Fox News that, “This was the first I had heard of it.”

As the scandal and FBI investigations have picked up steam, a special prosecutor has been appointed to eliminate conflict of interest perceptions. It appears that many members of Congress are being implicated in the scandal, at least peripherally, including Mike Pence.

In the Fox News poll, 68 percent of respondents said they favored the appointment of a special prosecutor. Forty-four percent of respondents also said they believe that the Russian interference in the election had a real effect on putting Donald Trump and Mike Pence into office.

Mike Pence appears to have a significant credibility problem, which may only worsen as the Trump Russia scandal investigations deepen. The scandal overall has had a negative impact on the Trump Administration.

Project 538 blog notes that “Trump’s base seems to be eroding.” That would include the same base that once supported Mike Pence. Nate Silver of Project 538 said the theory that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are popular in an impeachment era “isn’t supported by the evidence.”

“To the contrary, Trump’s base seems to be eroding. There’s been a considerable decline in the number of Americans who strongly approve of Trump…Far from unconditional love from his base, Trump has already lost almost a third of his strong support.”

This includes a loss of support for Mike Pence, who has a credibility problem. As Sarah Kendzior wrote for Quartz, Pence’s credibility problem began October 3, during the vice presidential debate when Mike Pence “calmly lied through his teeth about Donald Trump for 90 minutes.”

It would be only weeks after that debate when Pence would receive a letter from House Oversight about Michael Flynn’s lobbying with Turkey. By March 2017, Mike Pence would be saying “this is the first I’ve heard.”

As Sarah Kendzior notes, a Trump impeachment does not “free the US from the dark spector of collusion and betrayal” that is sweeping the country. She describes Mike Pence as a “calculating politician with a track record of oppressive policy making and a knack for dishonesty.”

Sarah warns Americans that Mike Pence is not a solution, but part of a problem. She also says, “Do not be fooled by the demeanor of a calm liar.”

Beware the calm liar. Mike Pence is complicit. https://t.co/jV4SVhG69s pic.twitter.com/bWZ1suPzgC

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) May 26, 2017

Given the massive drop in Mike Pence’s approval ratings today, it appears that America so far is not fooled. Recently, Mike Pence experienced some of that disapproval up close and personal when Notre Dame students walked out on him during a commencement speech. And overall, a quick skim of what the public thinks about Mike Pence on social media reveals that the Mike Pence approval rating on social media is not high either.

There are plenty of Trump regrets online that illustrate that the Republican base is leaving the Trump Administration in droves. Donald Trump certainly has his favorability problems. But so does Mike Pence, and the Republican base is being very loud about this.

One Twitter user said, “Mike I voted for you but I support Rand Paul’s HC and not RINO Ryan.” Another Twitter user said, “I feel for you but if you voted Trump/Pence, you and all other supporters were conned. Just like GOP, big con.” One Trump/Pence voter said, “Screw NATO, what the hell is wrong with you, Mr. Pence? I voted for you but this and support of the EU? SMH.”

Watch what happens here when Mike Pence takes the stage at Notre Dame University commencement. The event was held in Indiana, a state where Mike Pence was governor only a few months ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luDHuXk5Tt4

As the Trump Russia scandal investigations widen, it will be very interesting to see what the approval ratings show on Mike Pence in the coming weeks. Donald Trump’s approval rating today is dropping like a rock.

But, Mike Pence’s approval rating today is dropping even faster, and the Republican base is leaving because of it. This is bad news for Mike Pence, and the Republicans, in an era where the word “impeachment” is written about almost daily.

[Feature Image by Alex Brandon/AP Images]