Majority of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump’s job performance, poll reveals
A majority of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump’s presidential performance just over a month after he took office, a new poll has found.
Almost 9 in 10 (88 per cent) Republicans approve of Mr Trump’s performance, however the former real-estate mogul has garnered little support from outside his own party, with 54 per cent of voters disapproving of his actions, the NBC News and SurveyMonkey results showed.
Just eight per cent of Democrats and 30 per cent of independents approve of the US President’s performance so far.
The under 30 bracket largely disapprove of Mr Trump’s job performance at 67 per cent, while 50 per cent of those over 65 years old approve.
Opinions of Mr Trump’s performance vary considerably depending on ethnicity.
A majority of whites approve of the President’s performance, with 51 per cent supporting his actions and 48 per cent disapproving.
However more than three quarters (76 per cent) of black Americans disapprove of Mr Trump’s job performance, with 67 per cent of hispanics and 66 per cent of Asian-Americans also disapproving.
The results also found men were more likely to approve of the Republican leader’s performance in office than women.
It came as Mr Trump’s approval ratings took a nosedive in South Carolina – a state in which the Republican President won with a 14 percentage point margin over Hillary Clinton in the election three months ago.
His approval rating in the state has crumbled to 44 per cent, roughly matching average national polls, according to the survey by Winthrop University.
While most new US leaders enjoy a spike in popularity at the beginning of their term, Mr Trump’s nationwide rating was 21 points lower than the average 61 per cent, according to a Gallup poll taken in mid-February.
He was also 11 points lower than any other US leader in history for readings taken in mid-February, according to the results which surveyed 1,527 US citizens.
Mr Trump’s plummeting ratings followed a tumultuous first month for his administration.
Many of the former real-estate mogul’s first actions as 45th President were poorly received, including his controversial executive orders on immigration that temporarily barred visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, which was subsequently overturned by the courts.
The public has also ridiculed his confused statements over refugees in Sweden, while one of his senior advisers, Kellyanne Conway, referred to a “massacre” in the US, that never actually happened.
Mr Trump’s persistent attacks against the media and businesses he disagrees with have also drawn widespread criticism, while his administration’s dealings with Russia, which saw the resignation of his national security adviser Michael Flynn has meant early senior staff shakeups in the early days of his administration.
A national survey for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found a majority of Americans (53 per cent) support a Congress investigation into claims that Donald Trump’s administration had close ties with Russia during his presidential campaign.
