Trump’s approval rating hits new low

Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to a new low, Knewz.com can report. Polling data collected by Reuters/Ipsos found that the president’s approval rating dropped to 40 percent — the lowest of his second term — down one percentage point from two weeks earlier. Driving the dip: Concern over the commander in chief’s handling of immigration and the economy. The survey further shows that 56 percent of respondents disapproved of President Trump’s leadership.

A deeply polarized nation

According to the Reuters/Ipsos polling data, 83 percent of Republican respondents approved of President Trump’s performance while Democrats’ approval was in the single digits at just 3 percent. As for independent voters, about one-third approved of how Trump’s been leading the country. Responses were recently gathered from 1,023 U.S. adults over three days.

The economy and immigration

President Trump’s handling of the economy earned the approval of 38 percent of poll respondents. Meanwhile, 43 percent of respondents approved of the commander in chief’s approach to immigration. The Reuters/Ipsos survey’s margin of error is 3 percentage points.

Polls in line

A separate survey conducted by The Economist/YouGov during the same period revealed similar findings: According to that data, 40 percent of respondents approved of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 55 percent disapproved. Yet another recent poll, by Navigator Research, showed Trump with 42 percent approval and 54 percent disapproval scores.

Behind the decline

President Trump’s approval ratings are in decline because, following six months in office, “the honeymoon is either ending or over” and many voters are beginning to take “a more realistic view of his performance and policies,” William Hall, an adjunct professor of political science at Webster University in St. Louis, explained to Newsweek. “At this particular point in his tenure, I believe there appears to be a significant degree of doubt among voters in general, including consternation — especially among many of his core base — that he has been able to implement many of the promises he ran on and was ultimately elected to deliver,” the professor added.

Taking the nation’s temperature

The recent Economist/YouGov poll further found that 35 percent of respondents felt the country was “generally headed in the right direction” while 55 percent felt things were headed “off on the wrong track.” The three most important issues facing the country, according to the 1,777 adult American citizens who responded to the survey, were inflation/prices (23 percent), jobs and the economy (12 percent) and health care (11 percent). The three least important issues, which all tied at 1 percent, were guns, criminal justice reform and foreign policy.

Voter opinions on other leaders

So how are other notable leaders faring in the court of public opinion? In the recent Economist/YouGov poll, only two had favorable ratings above 30 percent: Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio (35% favorable; 39% unfavorable) and former President Barack Obama (52% favorable; 43% unfavorable). Here’s how other big names on the national stage fared in the poll: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (27 percent favorable; 38 percent unfavorable); Senate Majority Leader John Thune (16 percent favorable; 27 percent unfavorable); Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (23 percent favorable; 47 percent unfavorable); House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (25 percent favorable; 35 percent unfavorable); Attorney General Pam Bondi (26 percent favorable; 40 percent unfavorable); Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell (29 percent favorable; 23 percent unfavorable); Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (27 percent favorable; 25 percent unfavorable); Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani (25 percent favorable; 31 percent unfavorable).

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