President Trump’s approval rating stuck near 40 percent
President Trump's approval rating is at or near 40 percent, according to new survey data released this week. A Gallup poll released Wednesday found that 40 percent of Americans approve of Mr. Trump's job performance, while 55 percent disapprove. An Economist/YouGov poll also released Wednesday put Mr. Trump's approval rating at 41 percent among registered voters nationwide, and his disapproval rating at 52 percent. And according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey released Tuesday, 40 percent of Americans believe the president is doing a good job, while 57 percent disagree.
The percentage of Americans who applaud the job Mr. Trump is doing as president has scarcely changed in the last two months. On May 12, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Mr. Trump's approval rating stood at 41.6 percent, and his disapproval rating stood at 53.3 percent. Today, those numbers are 40.5 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively.
Mr. Trump's approval rating also trails those of his immediate predecessors at similar points in their presidencies. In a Gallup poll conducted in mid-July 2009, then-President Barack Obama's approval rating stood at 58 percent, and his disapproval rating stood at only 34 percent. And in a Gallup poll from July 2001, 57 percent of respondents approved of then-President George W. Bush's job performance, and only 35 percent disapproved.
The Economist poll also contained some interesting findings on how Americans are reacting to the scandal involving Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, and that country's possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Fifty-six percent of registered voters surveyed said it was definitely or probably true that Russia hacked the email accounts of Democrats in order to increase the chance that Mr. Trump would win the presidential election. Forty-four percent said that scenario was probably or definitely not true.
On the question of whether Mr. Trump himself did anything improper in his dealings with Russia prior to his inauguration, only 35 percent of registered voters said they think he did. Forty-three percent said they believe he did not do anything improper, and 22 percent weren't sure.
Still, there is considerable concern about the broader question of Russian misconduct. Fifty-three percent of registered voters said they were somewhat or very concerned about improper relations between the Trump administration and Russia, while only 38 percent said they were not very concerned or not concerned at all.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,500 adults between July 9 and July 11, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. The Economist poll surveyed 1,284 registered voters between July 9 and July 11, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent. And the Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,560 Americans over a five-day period immediately prior to the poll's release, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent.
