Rural America helped lift Donald Trump to the White House, but his approval ratings with them are now in sharp decline.
A new report from Reuters indicates that among whites and men in rural America, Trump’s popularity is on the decline.
In Trump’s first week in office, his approval rating among rural voters on immigration was +17%, which has now declined to +9%.
One of the biggest drops in approval comes on the issue of healthcare. Trump initially enjoyed a +20% approval rating, which has now been reduced to a -4 approval rating. On the issue of “corruption,” Trump had a positive +16% approval rating early on, which had now dropped to -2.
Erosion of popularity among Trump’s base–white, rural voters–could be the result of mixed feelings on Trump’s governing so far, including inaction on repealing Obamacare and ending illegal immigration. Trump campaigned on a hardline policy stance on immigration and refugees, one that has been difficult to implement since he took office. On the other hand, some voters quoted in the Reuters report were leaning towards more moderate policies.
And on the issue of Obamacare, there has been an erosion of support, likely due to mixed feelings among different sectors of the base. Middle and upper-class Republicans would like to see the bill replaced with something similar to the original Ryan plan, while some working-class Trump voters depend on the subsidies provided from the Affordable Care Act and don’t want to lose them.