President Donald Trump’s Failing Approval Rating Hits New Low In Marist Poll
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dipped to an all-time Oval Office low in the latest Marist College poll.
Trump registered just 35 percent support in the poll taken Aug. 8, and released on the same day Heather Heyer was mowed down in Charlottesville, Va. during an “alt-rally” that the president has been widely criticized as being too tepid in his condemnation of.
Perhaps of even greater alarm to GOP supporters, pollsters found Trump’s support among “strong Republican” voters has dropped from a June high of 91 percent to just 79 percent.
Collectively, 62 percent of the 1,099 respondents polled agreed the president “decisions overall have weakened the role of the United States on the world stage.”
“While Republicans are still largely in Trump’s corner, the cautionary tale for the president lies in the softening of support at his base,” said Lee M. Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “Since his numbers among Democrats and independents are weak, a crack among his most ardent supporters is something Trump can ill afford.”
Pollsters also found only three in every five Americans believe Trump is honest, and just 36 percent agree he is making good on his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. In addition, 72 percent of all respondents agreed Trump’s Twitter presence “is reckless and distracting.”
Added Miringoff, “in light of the difficulty President Trump has had with Congress and the series of controversies and distractions he has had advancing his agenda, it is not surprising that, in the view of Americans, the president has been unable to put together a winning streak.”
One of the few bright spots in the poll for Trump lies in his handling of the economy, where 44 percent of Americans believe the economy has strengthened based on his decisions, compared to 46 percent who feel that it has weakened under his guardianship.
Still things may get worse before they get better for Trump in the wake of chief strategist’s Steve Bannon’s sudden and unceremonious ouster.
With Bannon out of the cabinet and now back at Breitbart News, speculation is rampant that he may be looking to wage “war” against the administration. A growing number of conservatives also now seem openly leery that Trump may not be up to sticking with the plan they envisioned in turning out to support his upset win over Hillary Clinton.
With his departure, Bannon joins a growing list of top Trump aides who have failed to make it past the six-month mark in the administration.
Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Communications Director Anthony Scaramuccui have also been recent casualties.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
