A year into his second term in office, Donald Trump is quickly becoming the most unpopular president in U.S. history, with two-thirds of Americans polled saying his presidency is a “failure” and that he’s making things worse as head of state, according to a new CNN poll.
A few highlights from the poll:
*58% call the first year of Trump’s term a failure.
*55% say that Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country.
*64%, say he hasn’t gone far enough in trying to reduce the price of everyday goods.
*37% say that Trump puts the good of the country above his personal gain.
*32% say that Trump is in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives.
Those numbers are the worst possible news for Trump and Republicans as they prepare for the upcoming midterm elections, according to CNN political analyst David Chalian, who broke down the survey this morning on the network.
“It is really hard to find even a sliver of good news for President Trump in this poll,” Chalian said, “and it’s worth noting that just compared to less than a year ago, he was at his best political ratings of his career, and that has just gone away, and it is largely, as you just noted there, due to the economy and and the country thinks that he is focused on the wrong priorities.”
Trump is underwater on every single issue that matters to voters, Chalian added.
“This is also a difference from the first term. One of his strong suits in the first term was the economy. It consistently, he polled better on handling the economy than his overall job approval. At the beginning of this term, it was immigration that was the strong suit. He polled better on that issue than he polled overall. That is not the case now, he is underwater on every single issue tested, and there is no real strong suit. It all kind of looks at that low 40, upper 30 range where you showed his overall approval rating, and you just noted independents.”
Republicans should be very worried, Chalian warned.
“I think this is the number that is going to send shivers down the spines of Republicans on Capitol Hill who are on the ballot this year,” Chalian added. “He is at 29 percent approval among independents. That is politically perilous for his party.”
One number in particular, Chalian noted, should be especially terrifying for the GOP: The 55% who say Trump is making things worse as president.
“That is a that is a tough, tough number for him and his party, and then just overall about his use of presidential power, 58 percent of Americans, nearly six in 10, say he has gone too far when it comes to using his presidential power. Obviously, that is broader than the economy, but clearly tariffs could be a part of that, as well. This is just a president and a presidency right now that is not aligned with the country’s priorities, and that is going to give real concern to his party in this midterm year.”
The other bad news for Trump and the GOP is likely to be delivered when the votes are counted this November. Could the predicted “blue wave” be large enough to give Democrats control of both the House and Senate? And will they also have enough votes to impeach Trump for the third time and finally convict him, booting him from the Oval Office? Time will tell.
