Keeping in mind that this poll was conducted before the failure to replace Obamacare on Thursday night, the president isn’t on a really good trajectory.
A new Harvard-Harris poll reveals that President Trump’s job approval rating has taken a 4-point drop since June, to 44 percent.
Of course, as seems to be the norm with these polls, the results are quite partisan.
Republicans are more apt to approve of the job he’s doing. That number stands at 83 percent. Among Independents, it’s at 40 percent.
The poll also delved into the racial divide, with 54 percent of white voters approving, 32 percent of Latino voters approving, and a mere 12 percent of black voters approving.
It wasn’t a total bust for Trump’s performance, however.
When asked what areas he was doing well in, the respondents gave him thumbs up for his handling of terrorism, jobs, and the economy.
So what do they disapprove of?
This one struck me kind of odd, when you hold it up against those areas where they say he isn’t a complete failure: Immigration, foreign affairs, and administering the government.
Don’t those areas approved and those disapproved sort of line-up?
Also in the poll:
Only 41 percent have a favorable view of the president personally, the survey found.
The same number say the presidency is on the right track, against 59 percent who say it is on the wrong track.
Among those who believe the presidency is headed in the right direction, most say it is because of the president’s policies, not because of his temperance for the job. For those who believe Trump is on the wrong track, 77 percent said it was because he intemperate.
In other words, the mad tweeting and paper-thin skin only goes over well with the loyalists.
Voters say that Trump could improve his presidency by focusing more on the economy, by abstaining from Twitter, by changing his tone to be less combative, or by reshuffling his White House team to install people with more government experience.
See?
And let’s not forget Congress. They’re doing worse than even Trump, these days.
Republicans in Congress are less popular than Trump and are performing worse than Democrats. While 59 percent give Democrats in Congress a negative rating, 67 percent disapprove of the job Republicans are doing.
Harvard-Harris co-director, Mark Penn gave his thoughts.
“The division in the administration has hurt the president while the division in the Republican Party has hurt the Republicans,” Penn said. “They have created their own version of gridlock. But Democrats are far from majority support as well as the country favors bipartisan action.”
What about the direction of the country versus the direction of the economy?
Only 32 percent of voters say the country is on the right track. But there is still optimism about the economy, with 44 percent saying it’s on the right track compared to 41 percent who said wrong track.
Also, the firing of James Comey and the ongoing Russia probe have hurt Trump. People are tired of the scandal. A hefty 64 percent say the investigations are hurting the country.
What’s interesting about the Harvard-Harris poll is that it gives the partisan breakdown of respondents.
With 2,051 registered voters responding online, those responding were 37 percent Democrat, 31 percent Republican, 27 percent Independent, and 4 percent “other.”
The poll was conducted from July 19 to July 24.
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