Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:59 am
Trump’s job approval rating has fallen six more points overall and an additional four points with Independents, when he is at 39% approval.
The six-point decline in the president’s approval rating is the sharpest drop Gallup has recorded for the Trump presidency so far, largely because Trump’s ratings have been highly stable and have yet to reach the historical average for presidents (back to 1945) of 53%.
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Since the mid-March poll, Trump’s job approval rating has fallen six points among Democrats (to 7%) and four points among independents (to 39%). Higher approval ratings among those groups helped fuel the short-lived rally in approval for Trump. Republicans’ evaluations of Trump have been highly stable throughout 2020 and currently sit at 93% approval.
Trump’s decline comes at the same time that approval of Congress has reached a ten year high of 30%.
The Congress is getting credit for the coronavirus stimulus bill, not Trump, so it doesn’t appear to matter if Trump’s name appears on the checks or not, the American people correctly see the source of the aid as Congress, not the president.
Trump’s numbers are only beginning to turn ugly. If Trump falls into the thirties in terms of support with Independents, he will have a difficult time winning a second term in November. There aren’t enough Republicans in the country to overcome a coalition of Democrats and Independents who vote against Trump.
Trump beat Clinton 46%-42% with Independents in 2016. If he loses 7 points of Independent support to Joe Biden, Trump will have nowhere else to make up the missing vote.
If Biden beats Trump with Independents, his odds of winning the election will increase substantially.
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
