The past few weeks have been very tough ones for Donald Trump, and his approval ratings are reflecting it. After two mass shootings in less than 24 hours, one of which was committed by a shooter who cited Trump’s own words as motivation, mass deportation raids that left children without parents, and a suddenly plunging economy, reelection is not looking like a bright prospect for the sitting president.
Fox News poll:
56% of voters disapprove of Trump's performance. Record numbers of men (53%), white men (46%), and independents (64%) disapprove. His disapproval rating has only been higher once: 57% in October 2017.
43% of voters approve of Trump.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 14, 2019
Even worse, his own favorite state news channel is reporting the hits he’s taking. In a Fox News poll released on Wednesday, Trump’s disapproval rating had soared to just one point lower than his worst (from October 2017), and his approval rating is well within the negative range. Some demographic groups with which Trump has previously fared better are now beginning to show signs of walking back their support, including white men, independents, and even a higher percentage of Republicans.
The Fox News poll showed that:
‘The president’s job ratings are increasingly negative in the shooting aftermath, as 59 percent say Trump is “tearing the country apart,” compared to 31 percent who feel he’s “drawing the country together.” Two years ago it was 56-33 percent (August 2017).’
‘Sixty-five percent of Republicans and 54 percent of conservatives think he’s drawing the country together, while 92 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of non-whites, 59 percent of independents, and 53 percent of whites say tearing the country apart.’
The majority of the country, six percent more than in April 2017, reported being unhappy with the direction the country is heading. Although a majority of Republicans said they believe the country is headed in the right direction, 27 percent of them did not agree. The vast majority of Democrats said they were dissatisfied, and the crucial Independent electorate disapprove of Trump’s performance, as well.
‘Fifty-nine percent of voters are unhappy with the way things are going in the country. That’s higher than the 53 percent who were dissatisfied at Trump’s 100-day mark (April 2017). Among partisans, Republicans (73 percent) alone are satisfied, as most Democrats (86 percent) and independents (63 percent) are dissatisfied.
‘When thinking about their personal finances, 50 percent say they are “holding steady,” 26 percent “falling behind,” and 22 percent “getting ahead.” That’s unchanged since 2018.’
Trump defends deportation raids at Mississippi food processing plants that left children abandoned because it's "a very good deterrent," again floats idea of using white supremacist mass shooting & need for stronger background checks as leverage for hardline immigration reform pic.twitter.com/VshDSE8WEG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 9, 2019
The poll followed the two mass shootings that left more than a dozen people dead and twice as many injured in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Although a large majority of voters support stricter gun legislation in the form of background checks and assault weapons bans, Trump has failed to answer the call for progress. Instead, he’s floated a few propositions that he’s willing to trade for stricter immigration policies, while it was his rhetoric on undocumented immigrants that the El Paso shooter quoted as motivation for his murders.
‘An equal number, 56 percent, place a great deal of blame for mass shootings on easy access to guns and a lack of services for mentally ill people with violent tendencies. Four in 10 blame expressions of white nationalism (40 percent) and inadequate parenting (39 percent). About a third point to sentiments expressed by President Trump (34 percent) and anti-immigrant sentiment (33 percent). Less than a quarter say violent video games (23 percent) and sentiments expressed by Democratic political leaders (15 percent).’
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1161078754493566976
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
