Majority Of Americans Disapprove Of Donald Trump’s Performance Amid Recession Fears
A majority of people in the United States disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance, according to a new poll released Thursday from The Associated Press.
Sixty-two percent of people surveyed said that they disapproved of the job that the president was doing while in office. Just around 36 percent of those surveyed said that they approved of President Trump’s performance.
Notably, 16 percent of Democrats said they supported the president’s handling of the economy. That number, though, is small compared to the 84 percent of Republicans who had a favorable view of Trump’s economic policies. The poll was conducted by The Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
According to The Hill, President Trump’s approval rating is low compared to former President Obama from his first term in office, though the numbers do align with previous reports about the president’s approval rating. Throughout his first term, President Trump’s approval rating has fluctuated between 32 and 42 percent, per The Hill.
Meanwhile, the president has continued to refute claims that a recession is looming. According to a report from Business Insider, some have linked the president’s recent behavior – which has been called erratic and included throwing insults toward Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and sharing conspiracy theories that claimed Israeli Jews regarded the president as the “second coming” of God – is a sign that there is internal fear a recession could harm President Trump’s bid for re-election.
The most Democratic thing imaginable is having a hand-wringing panic about "electability" when the incumbent president struggles to crack 42% approval. https://t.co/qVZ3cKi6S1
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) August 21, 2019
According to a report from The Washington Post, the president refuted reports of a looming recession and claimed that the U.S. economy was strong, though per The Washington Post report, the president has privately expressed fears about a potential economic downturn. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that administration officials have claimed the economy remains strong, citing low unemployment numbers, inflation, and strong retail sales.
CNBC reported that the president was not considering tax cuts in light of reports of a looming economic downturn, just one day after he said he would consider changing tax policy. The president had said on Tuesday that he would consider a payroll tax rate reduction, though he insisted it was not because he feared a recession. On Wednesday, however, CNBC said that the president changed course and said that Trump insisted that he would not adjust the payroll tax rate.
“I’m not looking at a tax cut now. We don’t need it. We have a strong economy,” the president said to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday.
The president on Thursday also took to Twitter and continued to claim that the U.S. economy was strong.
The Economy is doing really well. The Federal Reserve can easily make it Record Setting! The question is being asked, why are we paying much more in interest than Germany and certain other countries? Be early (for a change), not late. Let America win big, rather than just win!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2019
