Trump’s Approval Rating Suffers “Sharpest Drop Gallup Has Recorded”

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has suffered a severe decline over the past month. A new Gallup poll shows the steepest fall the consulting firm has ever seen.

The President’s approval stands at 43% – a major decline since April, when Gallup found 49% of Americans approved of Trump.

“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%,” Gallup said.

Trump’s average approval is around 42%. This is lower than the general average for presidents as Trump has consistently struggled to keep his numbers above water.

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“The current health and economic crisis is undoubtedly the greatest challenge of his presidency so far — and could imperil his standing in the final year of his first term as he seeks reelection,” Gallup reported.

“Americans’ ratings of Trump’s performance improved in mid-March, when the novel Coronavirus threat demanded federal efforts to contain the spread,” the firm said.

“Trump addressed the nation on the threat on March 11, and a few days later recommended that Americans follow stay-at-home measures already in place in several states.”

“But one month is a long time for Americans in quarantine and the dip in the president’s ratings may be equally reflective of their assessment of his performance and an overall souring mood as the unemployment rate and death toll both continue to climb.”

Separately, conservative pollster John Zogby has found Trump’s approval rating suffering from Coronavirus, too. Trump has approvingly cited Zogby polling despite its poor reputation.

But even Zogby had a warning for the President.

“Trump will need to change his message from blame game to one of safety and economics,” he said.

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Darragh Roche

Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media