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 rating: 37% approval (8/4/17)
- Trump highest approval rating: 45% approval (6/7/19)
- Trump's current rating: 45% approval
For the second consecutive week President Trump’s average approval rating stands at 45%, which is essentially tied for the highest approval rating of his administration. This week is a classic example of why this weekly update is so relevant. When you consider the President’s tweets aimed at the “Squad” last weekend and the subsequent news coverage this week...complete with the Democrats in the House voting to condemn the president’s comments...a casual observer of the news might think it’d have hurt President Trump. You, as an informed listener, know better.
First, there was never anything inherently racist about the tweets. Go back where you came from doesn’t = race and those in news media and in politics who’ve attempted to pervert the situation to fit their political narrative have only served to further cement their lack of credibility to those who’ve paid attention. Meanwhile, Representatives Omar and Talib have proposed a resolution on the House floor to boycott Israel while having the audacity to suggest it’s similar to the US boycotts of Germany during World War II and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This is exactly the type of policy proposed by the “Squad” that President Trump is attempting to draw attention to with his comments.
With the 2020 Democrats officially in the primary cycle, more attention will be paid to the president’s performance and you’ll doubtlessly hear many hypothetical match-ups going forward. Remember that for now, none of them are predictive and won’t be until the primary process has concluded. What is instructive is a president’s relative strength throughout the process. Presidential election cycles with incumbent presidents running for re-election are mostly a referendum on their performance.
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: 44%
- Registered voters: 43%
- Likely voters: 49%
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: 37%
- Schumer: 29%
What does that tell you about what’s really going on in this country? Pelosi trails President Trump’s approval by eight points and Schumer by 16. 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: 37%
Overall, we’re 7% collectively more optimistic than we were during the Obama administration.