As Trump's Approval Sinks And Agenda Fails, Republicans Distance Themselves From President

The conventional wisdom in the mainstream media continues to be that Trump’s base is sticking with him and that his support among Republicans continues to be nearly universal. Back in mid-June, I challenged that assumption, pointing out the not only had his support among Republicans dropped by over 10% but that the level of strong support for Trump among that group had fallen to near the 50% level. And, as Nate Silver pointed out, that support among Republicans may actually be artificially higher than it appears as more and more Republicans refuse to self-identify that way simply because of Trump.

The latest Quinnipiac poll seems to indicate that all those trends are increasing. Trump’s approval rating is down to an abysmal 33% and his support among Republicans has fallen to just 76%, dropping from around 90% when he began his term. Of that GOP cohort, again, only 53% strongly support Trump. His support among his assumed base, white workers without a college degree, has actually fallen into negative territory with 50% disapproving and only 43% approving. Around 60% of voters do not believe that he is honest and that he considers himself above the law, especially alarming numbers if we ever get to impeachment proceedings. In addition, the question about whether American are optimistic about the next four years with Trump as President has flipped entirely since his inauguration, going from 53%-43% optimistic to 53%-43% pessimistic. As the assistant director of the survey said, “It’s hard to pick what is the most alarming number in the troubling trail of new lows for President Donald Trump.”

Now this is just one poll so it needs be taken with that grain of salt. In addition, it comes after the disaster of Trumpcare and continuing revelations about Russian collusion. So I expect this might be a temporary low, especially as the White House renews its white nationalist agenda. On the other hand, Silver’s point about the reduction of self-identified Republicans still holds as a possible inflator of his support among Republicans. But the fact of the matter is that Trump’s support is still falling and it is falling fairly quickly among Republicans and even among his core base.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that, now that dream agenda of gutting Medicaid to pass massive tax cuts has essentially failed, vulnerable Cngressional Republicans are starting to distance themselves from Trump. Poll numbers like this will only exacerbate that trend. So don’t believe it when you hear Republicans are still sticking with Trump. Republicans in Congress don’t seem to believe it.