Bad news for Donald Trump and bad news for Republicans: Trump’s already low poll numbers are drop, drop, dropping. Trump has 54 percent disapproval in the newest Quinnipiac poll, which is unchanged from the previous month—but his approval has dropped from 41 percent to 38 percent. A CNN poll, also released Monday, shows an even bigger drop in approval, from 42 percent to 36 percent. That shift, worryingly for Republicans, is driven by falling support among independents.
That’s two polls with similar results, but it’s not all. CNN’s Harry Enten rounds up eight polls over the last two weeks with Trump’s approval sinking. (And it wasn’t high to begin with.)
The specific questions beyond approval in the Quinnipiac poll are also worth checking out. A majority of voters believe that Trump’s aides are working behind his back to block his bad decisions. Majorities also say Trump is not fit to be president, he doesn’t share voters’ values, he doesn’t have good leadership skills, he doesn’t care about average Americans, and he’s not level-headed. Here’s what passes for good news for Trump: a plurality of voters think he’s mentally stable, a narrow majority thinks he’s intelligent, and a solid majority thinks he’s strong. Though when you eliminate good leadership skills and believe that Trump’s own aides are undermining him, that’s an interesting definition of strength.
Trump will find ways to cushion his ego. He’ll imagine some new poll showing him more popular than Jesus, and his aides have probably worked to keep him from knowing about all these bad ones in any case. But congressional Republicans are surely aware of what bad news this is for them with the midterm elections less than two months away and with all the signs of a blue wave building.
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