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: 47% approval (2/20/20)
- Trump's current rating: 44% approval
I have a confession. I’m personally disinterested in discussing outlooks that factor into what will happen in November. What’s happening in the here and now is far more important in real time. My personal interest is to ensure people retain their jobs by whatever means necessary until we’ve turned the corner on the virus. There should be a laser focus on that singular point by everyone in Washington. I’m used to being disappointed by political responses but this one is especially unfortunate. I’d like to think that somewhere along the way there’s still far more that unites us than divides us and we could mitigate a world-wide pandemic without partisan politics playing a heavy roll but apparently that’s expecting too much.
I’ve yet to hear a sound plan that’s laser focused on retaining jobs. That’s unfortunate. And every day that goes by is lost opportunity. But this is a weekly update about the political landscape as viewed by you and the rest of the country – not my personal frustrations with the state of our politics. President Trump is off a point this week and three since the corona concerns began.
We continue to see that as usual,the more informed and engaged people are, the more likely they are to approve of President Trump.
- Adult only samples: N/A
- Registered voters: 44%
- Likely voters: 48%
What you never hear reported are the ratings of the Democratic leaders opposing him. Here’s the latest...
- Pelosi: 39%
- Schumer: 30%
Much less approved of than President Trump and Nancy is off a point herself this week. It’s deserved for many reasons, none the least of which is advancing a plan for the extension of unemployment benefits past six months. Rather than creating a plan to retain jobs with record low unemployment, she’s laying the groundwork for an economic collapse that would have you lose your job and still be unemployed seven plus months later. I’d say I’m at a loss but I’ve understood what she cares most about for a long time and it isn’t your job security.
Looking at the direction of the country this week...
Where we stood on Inauguration Day:
- Right Direction: 30%
Today:
- Right Direction: 38%
Overall, we’re 8% more optimistic than in the aggregate of the Obama years. The virus has taken another point of optimism away. We’re now 5% less optimistic since the onset of the coronavirus fears.