More bad news for the Trump administration’s liberal critics. Despite weeks of attacks on the president for his handling of illegal immigrant mothers and children at the U.S.-Mexico border and more recently, his friendly summit meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump’s favorability rating continues to inch upward.
The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted less than two weeks ago, has Trump’s approval rating at 45 percent, the highest of his presidency. The Gallup Organization has Trump at 42 percent, also a record high.
Several other polling organizations are reporting similar upticks. The latest poll conducted by American Barometer and released on Tuesday has Trump at a whopping 48 percent.
Only Quinnipiac, a notoriously pro-Democratic polling organization, shows Trump on a downswing.
There are various explanations for these results. One is that Trump’s latest policy moves are winning over more voters, especially Republicans. Another is that voters across the board are simply ignoring these issues and focusing on other indicators of Trump’s success, most notably the nation’s booming economy.
While liberals have done their best to pooh-pooh Trump’s economic stewardship, most voters clearly approve. With job growth and GDP growth surpassing expectations, and unemployment continuing to fall, polls show steadily increasing support for Trump.
In late June, for example, 51 percent of adults said they approved of Trump’s performance on the economic front, according to a nationwide poll conducted by the CNBC. Just 36 of poll participants said they disapproved. It’s the first time the poll has shown approval from more than half of respondents since the president took office.
Moreover, approval of Trump’s handling of the economy has increased since March, when the CNBC survey found just 45-percent support.
On immigration, voters, including many Republicans, have expressed concern that keeping mothers and their children in separate immigrant detention facilities is inhumane, and possibly illegal. But support for Trump’s immigration policies, especially tougher border enforcement and a crackdown on sanctuary cities, remains strong.
And Trump may have eased voter concern when he asked the Pentagon to house illegal immigrant children with their mothers until the courts can determine how best to handle the matter under existing U.S. law.
Even the president’s recent summit meeting with Putin, which was greeted with skepticism by most voters, including independents, has not dimmed support for Trump overall. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that approval for Trump had increased from 44 percent to 45 percent, while disapproval had fallen from 53 percent to 52 percent.
Liberal attacks on Trump may be backfiring in one key respect: Far from dividing GOP voters, they are helping the president consolidate Republican support. About 88 percent of Republican voters approve of his presidency, his highest GOP approval rating yet.
Stewart Lawrence is a consultant and policy analyst.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.
