Donald Trump's approval rating sinks to new low, latest poll finds

Donald Trump’s approval rating has hit a new low and most Americans have an unfavourable view of him, according to a new poll.

Around 55 per cent of those surveyed said they disapproved of the manner in which Mr Trump is leading the country with just 35 expressing positivity about his performance, the poll by analysts Marist found.

The clear majority of Americans - 60 per cent - had an unfavourable impression of Mr Trump generally, while just 34 per cent viewed him favourably. It marks the highest negative poll rating Mr Trump has received by Marist during his tenure as president so far.

Meanwhile around 79 per cent of people who identified as strong Republicans said they had a positive view of the president’s performance, down from 91 per cent in June.

More than six in ten Americans, including a notable proportion of Republicans, thought Mr Trump had fallen short on the global stage.

Dr Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute, said the poll indicated Mr Trump needed to acknowledge a “cautionary tale” about the dip in his support.

“Since his numbers among Democrats and independents are weak, a crack among his most ardent Republican supporters is something Trump can ill afford,” he said. “They are sending a clear message to the president about his role internationally.”

A separate poll, published by Gallup this week, found that Mr Trump’s approval rating had sunk to 34 per cent in recent weeks, with 61 per cent of adults expressing disapproval.

In June, Mr Trump claimed his approval rating was higher than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama – despite the fact that the data to which he was referring, a poll by Rasmussen, suggested the opposite was true.

At the start of August, a survey by Quinnipiac University revealed that Mr Trump’s popularity had plummeted following controversy over the Russian investigation and the failure of his bid to overturn the Obamacare health programme.

Republican support for Mr Trump is thought to have dipped in recent days following his highly controversial comments on the violence in Charlottesville, in which he said there was “blame on both sides” and refused to condemn white supremacists.