Donald Trump has set a record by registering the highest disapproval rating of any newly elected president in the history of polling.
CNN reported in the latest CNN/ORC poll, “Overall, 44% approve of the way he’s handling the job, seven points below the previous low-point of 51%. Further, the share who disapprove “strongly” of Trump’s work as president is nearly as large as the total block who approve, 43% feel intensely negative about Trump. Partisanship is the sharpest divider in opinions on Trump (90% of Republicans approve vs. 10% of Democrats).
A deeper look inside the numbers reveals that Trump is only at a (+4) net approval with men (51%-47%). He is at a net (-20) net approval with women (38%-58%). President Trump is at a net (+8) approval (53%-45%) with white voters, but he is a net (-42) with non-white voters (28%-70%). There is a definite generational divide on Trump as respondents under age 45 give him a net (-30) approval rating (33%-63%), but those over age 45 give him a net (+8) approval rating (53%-45%). Trump has a negative approval rating in every region of the country, but the South. The core of the President’s support is with white non-college grads (59%) approval, Republicans (90%) approval, and conservatives (81%).
The numbers are so bad for Donald Trump that he is beginning his term with his support teetering on the brink of collapse. If Trump slips even a little bit with white voters, he will be risking a complete plummet of his support. Trump has no wiggle room. The actions that he has taken early on have only driven voters away from him.
Strange things can happen in American politics, so one never wants to suggest that a president is doomed, but the early part of a first term is traditionally the honeymoon period, and as things get more difficult approval ratings usually slide.
If this happens to Trump, his support with the American people will fall straight off the cliff.
