President Trump's approval & our view of the direction of the country
Bottom Line: This is a weekly story to get a reality/temperature check regarding what's really going on with public opinion of the President and our view of the direction of the country. First here's the high point, low point and current ratings for President Trump...
- Trump's lowest ratings: 37% approval and 59% disapproval: -22% (8/4/17)
- Trump highest approval ratings 45% approval and 43% disapproval (1/27/17): +2%
- Trump's current ratings: 44% approval and 52% disapproval: -8%
It’s been three weeks since the previous update and the noise has been awfully loud around the President, but Teflon Trump's rating has only improved by one point over the past few weeks. Increasingly it appears as though whatever media depicted impropriety or crisis of the day is being reported about the President – the only people who’re listening are those who already didn’t care for the President.
We also continue to see that in sampling the President continues to fair best with likely voters.
- With adult only samples his rating over the past week averaged: 42%
- Registered voters: 44%
- Likely voters: 46%
For comparison's sake President Obama's average approval rating on this date in his second year in office was 46% - two points higher than President Trump's rating but with likely voters – 44% which is two points lower than President Trump’s.
Looking at the direction of the country this week...
Where we stood on Inauguration Day:
- Right Direction: 30%
- Wrong Track: 59%
- Net: -29%
Today:
- Right Direction: 40%
- Wrong Track: 52%
- Net: -12%
Change: +17% under Trump & +2% over three weeks ago
Aside from the noise of the day in the news we’re continuing to experience the best economy in a generation with employment and wage growth that reflects it. It’s probably not surprising that we’re seeing that wash through in our overall optimism.
Until next week...