President Donald Trump’s approval rating appears to be hitting the bottom with the general electorate, while remaining at 80 percent with Republican voters.
According to a Morning Consult poll published Wednesday, which began surveying registered voters just as the news of the partial government shutdown hit the news, Trump’s resilience among the GOP faithful is not reflected in the 39 percent score that he received overall — a number that is reminiscent of public attitudes during the fallout from the Charlottesville riots in August 2017.
People hold signs that read, ” Build that Wall”, as they wait for the start of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of South Florida Sun Dome on Feb. 12, 2016 in Tampa, Fla. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Overall, the respondents expressed pessimism that Trump could secure funding for the border wall — which remains the president’s chief objective in the standoff with the Democratic Party leadership — with 54 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of general voters expressing doubt that Trump could win this battle. (RELATED: WaPo Editorial Board Says Time For Historic Deal On The Wall Dreamers)
Of those polled who said they voted for Trump in the 2016 election, that number drops to 38 percent. On Christmas Day, Trump told reporters that the government would stay in its current holding pattern until funding for the wall is secured. On Wednesday, Washington Post icon Bob Woodward told CNN, “it’s a governing crisis,” in reference to the shutdown.
When asked how much they had heard about the shutdown and the Congressional impasse, 78 percent indicated they had received “some” news of the situation and 39 percent responded with “a lot.” (RELATED: Poll: Trump Approval Rating At All Time High)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Vice President Mike Pence (2ndL) while meeting with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the White House in Washington, U.S., Dec. 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The poll was conducted from Dec. 21-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus two percent.