President Trump Is Not Having a Great Monday

From the FBI chief's testimony to poll ratings to his net worth
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 20, 2017 2:43 PM CDT
Trump Had a Rough News Cycle Monday
President Trump speaks during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 17.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

It wasn't the best of news cycles on Monday for President Trump, who will presumably be displeased with negative headlines on multiple fronts. The biggest: FBI Chief James Comey told Congress that he sees no evidence to support Trump's claims that President Obama wiretapped him. Plus, Comey confirmed that the FBI is investigating possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign during the election. Also making news:

  • Low numbers: The daily tracking poll at Gallup has Trump's job-approval rating at 37%, his lowest mark so far, and his disapproval rating rose to 58%. It's being chalked up to controversy over his wiretapping comments and opposition to the GOP health care plan, reports CNN.

  • Net worth: Forbes says Trump's net worth has fallen $200 million since he took office to $3.5 billion. That drops him 220 spots to 544 in its ranking of the world's richest people. Trump's decline, however, isn't about politics but about the New York real estate market.
  • Stephen Hawking: The famed physicist said in an interview that he's not sure he'd be welcome in America under Trump because of his opposing views on the environment. See story.
  • Billboard: An anti-Trump billboard in Phoenix is making headlines thanks in part to its dollar-shaped swastikas, per Fox News.
  • Loyalty: The Washington Post has an unflattering front-page story about the White House that says it has installed senior aides in Cabinet departments whose main job is to monitor the loyalty of Trump's secretaries. ProPublica also reported elements of the story here. Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, and Clinton did not use such a system.
  • Happier news: Not all the news was negative, however. The president is going to be a grandfather again—son Eric and his wife, Lara, are expecting their first child. Trump already is a grandfather of eight, per US Weekly.
(More President Trump stories.)

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