Voters in counties that went for Donald Trump last year, quite simply, aren’t impressed. That’s the takeaway from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that surveyed residents in 438 counties that either flipped from voting Democratic in the 2012 presidential to Republican in 2016, or surged for Trump last year. While just 32 percent of those voters think the country is better off now, NBC writes:
… a plurality — 41 percent — say the country is worse off now than it was when Trump became commander in chief. [...]
And overall, slightly more than half — 53 percent — say they do not think Trump has a clear agenda on how to address the major issues facing the country.
Remember, these are voters from counties that voted for Trump, not just voters selected randomly from across America. Trump’s approval rating is also underwater across the board in Trump counties, and it’s significantly worse than it was over the summer.
Trump’s standing within these key areas appears to be softening. A similar “Trump counties” poll in July found that 50 percent approved of Trump’s job performance, while 46 percent disapproved. Those specifically residing in “surge” counties, where Trump performed a net 20 points higher in 2016 than Mitt Romney did in 2012, rated him positively by a wide 56-to-40 margin in July. Now, Trump’s job approval rating in those same “surge” counties is almost even, with 49 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving.
The sample counties were seated in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.