Donald Trump's approval rating slips to all-time low in new poll
Donald Trump’s approval ratings have plumbed new depths as less than a third of Americans now back his leadership, a poll has suggested.
Just 32 per cent of voters say they approve of the way the billionaire is handling the pressures of the Oval Office, while 67 per cent disapprove, according to a survey by the Associated Press and the NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research.
Less than a fifth – 19 per cent – said they believed the President understood their needs and problems, while only 23 per cent said they thought he was honest.
The findings showed Mr Trump’s approval rating had slipped a full 10 points since March.
The analytics website FiveThirtyEight’s poll tracker showed the President’s average approval rating sitting at about 38 per cent.
More than 60 percent of Americans disapprove of how Mr Trump is handling race relations, foreign policy and immigration.
His stock is falling even among Republicans, AP-NORC’s survey said. In March 80 per cent believed he was doing a good job but this has now slipped to just 67 per cent.
Voters also had a low opinion of Mr Trump’s response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, it was reported this week.
Again only 32 per cent approved of the way he was handling the disaster, AP-NORC found, though 48 per cent had backed his response to earlier hurricane damage in Texas and Florida.
Before a visit to the US territory, Mr Trump lashed out at the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz. Once on the island he urged officials to say positive things about his administration and threw rolls of paper towels into the crowd at a relief centre.
Whatever Mr Trump’s troubles, Congress was held in even lower regard among those surveyed by AP-NORC.
Only 18 per cent approved of how it was working, with 81 per cent actively disapproving. More than half, or 51 per cent, strongly disapproved.
The gloomy outlook was encapsulated by the proportion of voters who said they were confident the US was headed in the right direction – a mere 24 per cent.
