Trump Approval Rating Hits Record High in New Poll
Well into his third year in office, President Trump’s approval rating has reached a record high, according to a poll released Monday.
Trump’s approval rating hit 44 percent in the new NPR/NewsHour/Marist poll, the highest level at which it’s been recorded in any mainstream opinion poll with the exception of a a July 7 Washington Post poll that recorded 47 percent approval.
Respondents were surveyed from July 15 to July 17, in the days following the president’s tweet instructing four freshman congresswoman of color to “go back” to their home countries.
Since taking office Trump’s approval rating has hovered between 35 and 43 percent in the Marist poll.
The poll, which included responses from 1,336 adults, also found that Trump has won over a small but significant group of independents in the last month. His approval rating among independents increased from 35 percent last month to 42 percent in the latest poll. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who said they will definitely vote against Trump remained unchanged from last month at 53 percent.
While Trump gained ground among independents, Democrats remain unpopular with the group: 43 percent of respondents in the poll said they believed Democrats would take the country in a positive direction if given the opportunity, compared with 46 percent who said the party would lead the country in a negative direction.
“Independents are on the fence overall,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College. “They’re not willing to grant President Trump reelection, and yet they’re not persuaded by Democrats at this point.”
While trust in Democrats remains low, a number of progressive policy proposals espoused by most of the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders performed well. Requiring background checks for all gun purchases received 89 percent support. Medicare for all who want it received 70 percent support before dropping off to just 41 percent when respondents were told that the proposal would include the elimination of the private insurance market.
More radical progressive proposals such as decriminalizing illegal border crossings (27 percent) and paying reparations to the descendants of slaves (27 percent) proved less popular.
