Donald Trump has hit a new low job approval rating of just 40 per cent.
Most of the voters that approve of the job Mr Trump is doing are white men. Of that bloc, only 28 per cent “strongly approve” of his performance in the White House.
This is down from 45 per cent in the same poll conducted in April.
The poll – commissioned by Fox News – was conducted by two research companies who called a random nationwide sample of 1,011 registered voters between 21 to 23 May.
About 45 per cent self-identified as Democrats, 38 per cent Republican, and 18 per cent Independent.
he same questions were asked of a different random sample of voters every month this year.
Fox News, owned by Mr Trump’s longtime friend Rupert Murdoch, has repeatedly aired news reports and brought experts on air who are in favour of the president.
Vice President Mike Pence also experienced a drop in approval of eight points, down from 50 per cent in April to just 42 per cent in the most recent poll.
Of that, only 29 per cent of registered voters “strongly approve” of the job he is doing as Mr Trump’s second in command.
Forty-five per cent of these voters have “confidence” in Mr Trump.
Mr Trump celebrated a victory when the Republican replacement to Obamacare passed the House of Representatives as a major legislative win. Given that his travel ban has been blocked by courts around the country and the proposed federal budget has received criticism from Republicans in Congress, it could be argued that it is only real win.
Of those polled only 40 per cent support the Obamacare replacement plan. The Republican healthcare plan is being reviewed by the Senate now.
Voters polled were also asked “do you think America’s best days are ahead of us or behind us?” A majority – 62 per cent – said yes, they are.
Among those surveyed, government spending was overwhelmingly important – 80 per cent of voters said it was their biggest concern.
The economy, infrastructure, a war with North Korea, “attacks by Islamic terrorists,” the job market, and “Russian meddling” were also on the list of choices for those polled to choose from.
Sixty per cent said they were concerned with climate change, which Mr Trump has often called a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese. It will be a major topic of discussion at the group of seven meeting (G7) in Italy which Mr Trump is attending.
Just over half of those polled said they were concerned about illegal immigration, however this is significantly less than the 62 per cent who said it concerned them just a month ago.
One of Mr Trump’s loudest, most controversial campaign promises was to build a nearly 2,000 mile border wall with Mexico in order to stem illegal immigration.
However, of those surveyed, only 36 per cent said they think he will actually build it and only 32 per cent want him to do it.
The Independent May 26, 2017
