How Americans feel about the Supreme Court under President Trump
Bottom Line: The passing of Justice Ginsburg immediately opened the floodgates of speculation about what the implications are for the Presidential Election which is now barely six weeks away. Time will tell and most punditry you’ve come across has likely been predictable based on the source. There are no shortage of stories about how this could be good or bad for both Biden and Trump. As it appears as through President Trump will quickly make his nomination from his recently provided list of candidates and the Senate, led by Majority leader Mitch McConnell, will advance the nomination process prior to the election – here's food for thought. It’s about our view of the Supreme Court under President Trump.
President Trump has already placed two Supreme Court justices on the court during his first term in office – equaling the total of the entire eight-year term of President Obama. The battle over Justice Kavanaugh is well documented and remembered. Based on the extraordinarily contentious nature of that battle, one might feel it’s impacted the average person's view of the Supreme Court. Here’s food for thought which might reveal conventional wisdom as once again being unwise... Do you think the average American views the Supreme Court more positively or negatively today compared to four years ago? Do you think the average person held a better or worse opinion of the court under the Obama or Trump administration? Here’s perspective you’re likely not to hear about elsewhere.
Gallup has regularly polled on the approval rating of the Supreme Court since 2000 - most recently in August. When Barak Obama became President the approval rating of the US Supreme Court was 61% - it steadily declined throughout his Presidency and stood at just 43% when Donald Trump became President. Conversely, the rating of the US Supreme Court has steadily risen under the Trump administration. In fact, the most recent approval rating for the Court, 58% is the highest since Obama became President in 2009. Here’s the change in Supreme Court approval by President:
- Obama: -18%
- Trump: +15%
That’s remarkable dichotomy and suggests that in reality – to the extent there is an impact on the Presidential Election, the focus shifting to the Supreme Court is a positive for President Trump. More to come...