New poll numbers show President Donald Trump’s base might finally be slipping.
Though the 45th president has seen some of the lowest poll numbers of any modern president since he entered the Oval Office in January, Trump’s approval ratings have now hit an all-time low. Just 36 percent of Americans now say they approve of Trump’s performance – the lowest approval rating at the six-month mark of any president since modern polling began about 70 years ago, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.
Low approval ratings are nothing new for President Trump, who entered office with the lowest approval rating of all time, at 45 percent, according to Gallup.
Trump’s approval rating has continued to erode further over the past six months, and as his administration has failed to deliver on key campaign promises like his border wall, Muslim ban and healthcare repeal, so also goes his Republican stronghold.
Seventy percent of people surveyed in the Washington Post/ABC poll see Trump’s behavior as president as “unpresidential.” Just 24 percent described his behavior since taking office as “proper and fitting.”
Among Republicans, 38 percent say Trump has acted unpresidential since entering the office, and ABC’s polling analyst Gary Langer said dissatisfaction is growing among groups who strongly supported Trump in the 2016 election. Forty-eight percent of evangelical white Protestants and 55 percent of non-college-educated white men agreed that Trump’s behavior falls short of expectation.
Trump’s actions both in person and on Twitter have long been a source of controversy, helping drive his approval ratings into the ground. Trump has claimed the media wants him to stop tweeting because they know it allows him to communicate directly with his base, but the fact is the president’s off-the-cuff and inflammatory Twitter style is driving major web traffic for many news organizations, and it’s his fellow Republican politicians that want him to stop.
Trump has a message for them regardless of their political affiliation or agenda: “My use of social media is not Presidential – it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again!” he tweeted on July 1.
My use of social media is not Presidential – it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017
But he might be the only one with that opinion – the Post/ABC poll surveyed Americans on the heels of yet another shocking revelation in the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
Last week, the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, admitted to meeting with a Russian lawyer whom he thought had evidence on then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Under federal law, it’s illegal to receive political opposition research from foreign nationals.
Twitter, it seems, is playing a major role in the growing negative perception around President Trump.
More than two-thirds – about 68 percent – of those surveyed in the Post/ABC poll said Trump’s tweets are “inappropriate” or “insulting” (65 percent). Fifty-two percent said the tweets are “dangerous.” And just 21 percent called the tweets “refreshing,” which included just 41 percent of self-identified Republicans who describe the tweets as “refreshing.”
But taking to Twitter on Monday, Trump seemed unphased by the latest revelations on his approval ratings.
“The ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40 [percent] is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time!”
The ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40% is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2017
Actually, the polls were only about 3.5 percentage points off, but don’t expect Trump to listen – he also claims he won the popular vote.
