A new Monmouth University poll revealed that Trump’s approval rating had dropped the most in the 300 counties where the 2016 election was decided by single digits.
According to the Monmouth University Poll, “The president’s job rating currently stands at a net negative 39% approve and 53% disapprove. It was more evenly divided two months ago at 43% approve and 46% disapprove. Trump’s rating has dropped slightly among residents of the nearly 2,500 counties that gave him a victory margin of ten points or more, from 55%-33% in March to 51%-41% today. It has also dipped in the 400+ counties he lost by ten points or more – from 33%-57% to 28%-64% in the current poll. Trump’s biggest decline, though, came among residents of swing counties – the 300 counties where 2016’s winning margin was in the single digits – dropping from 41%-46% in March to 34%-54% in the current poll.”
Donald Trump won over half of these 300 counties in 2016. If Trump’s favorability falls off of a cliff, that 78,000 vote margin in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan that got him into the White House could vanish in the blink of an eye.
At a time when counties have become hyper-partisan red or blue, these purple single digit counties are an endangered species.
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There is a political eon between now and the 2020 election, but Donald Trump has never had a national approval rating over 50%. Trump’s negative net approval has been consistent and has only shown a regular ability to get worse, not better.
Republicans have a bigger problem than they ever could have imagined on Election Night last November. The country is becoming more polarized, and it is moving away from the President. If American politics continues on its current trajectory, Democrats may find themselves in a plum position to take back the White House in 2020.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
