Weekly political update – Where news & perceptions meet reality
Bottom Line: This is your weekly reality check. What's really going on with public opinion of the president and our view of the direction of the country? Here it is...
- Trump's lowest ratings: 37% approval (8/4/17)
- Trump highest approval ratings: 45% approval (6/7/19)
- Trump's current ratings: 45% approval
In the week that President Trump officially launched his 2020 reelection bid, he’s gained a point on his overall approval rating and is essentially at his highest average rating just as he’s kicking off the campaign. That’s a strong sign for his re-election bid in the early going. Progress with China helps on back of the success with Mexico. Questions clearly remain about Iran and North Korea. President Trump will be challenged to attempt to keep the peace, he’s made clear he’s not a war hawk, while also continuing to successfully hold a hard line against the antagonistic efforts by those countries.
It’s been the case throughout his term thus far, that the more informed and engaged someone is politically, the more likely they are to approve of President Trump. That remains the case once again this week.
- Adult only samples averaged: 43
- Registered voters: 44%
- Likely voters: 50%
What you never hear reported are the ratings of the Democratic leaders opposing him. Let’s just say they’d need a huge push of support to simply catch President Trump’s approval ratings. Here’s the latest...
- Pelosi: 36%
- Schumer: 28%
What does that tell you about what’s really going on in this country? Pelosi trails President Trump’s approval by 9 points, the biggest gap thus far and Schumer by 17! It’s not exactly as though people are picking up what they’re putting down.
Looking at the direction of the country this week...
Where we stood on Inauguration Day:
- Right Direction: 30%
Today:
- Right Direction: 39%
That’s up a point this week, once again illustrating the disconnect between most news media and us. We are 9% collectively more optimistic than we were during the Obama administration.