Trump's Approval Rating Is Now at Its Highest Ever

Reaches 45%, thanks to sky-high ranking among Republicans
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 23, 2018 10:40 AM CDT
Trump's Approval Among Republicans Is Unusually High
President Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, smiles as he greets military families during an afternoon picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2018, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A new poll from the Wall Street Journal and NBC News contains some stats that President Trump might be boasting about soon, but also some warning signs for the White House. The big takeaway is that Trump's overall approval rating has hit an all-time high of 45%—and that came in a week when he was deluged with negative press coverage about his summit with Vladimir Putin. Of course, as the Journal notes, that percentage is still among the all-time lows for modern presidents in their first term. Other highlights:

  • Big Republican support: Trump enjoys an 88% approval rating from Republicans—the split is 64% who strongly approve and 24% who somewhat approve. Among recent presidents, only George W. Bush in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks has had a higher percentage within his own party, at 96%. That contrasts with the 9% of Democrats who approve of Trump.
  • Possible trouble: The president's standing with independents dropped 7 points in a month to 36%. Plus, independents favor a Democratic-controlled Congress by 20 percentage points, up from 7 in June. What's more, the percentage of Americans who think Russia interfered in the election rose 8 points to 65%.
  • Highs and lows: Overall, 50% of respondents approve of Trump's handling of the economy, but only 26% feel the same way about his handling of the US relationship with Russia. On the latter issue, 53% of Republicans approve of the US-Moscow relationship, compared with 14% of independents and 6% of Democrats. Overall, 51% don't approve.
(More President Trump stories.)

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