WASHINGTON, D.C. – According to a recent poll, the President’s approval rating has hit a second-term low. The poll from The New York Times/ Siena show the president has a 37 percent approval rating. According to the poll, people are upset over the President’s handling of the economy and the war with Iran but just because Donald Trump’s approval numbers are low, it doesn’t mean people are satisfied with the Democrats.
While Republicans showed support of the President’s job performance, about two-thirds disapproved of his handling of the economy. Nearly two-thirds of the people polled said the President’s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong decision. As Americans deal with higher energy costs due to the war, 55 percent of people don’t believe the war with Iran was worth the cost.
“Presidents can always rebound in their approval rating but over time the downward trend is usually pretty consistent,” said Dr. Todd Belt, a professor and director of the graduate school political management program at George Washington University.
Approval ratings are a historical measure of how a President’s party will fare in an election. As states head into their midterm elections, polls show Americans are increasingly concerned over the economy and the war with Iran.
“When the President is what is called ‘under water’, meaning his disapproval numbers are higher than his approval numbers as Donald Trump’s are now, then we usually see the other party pick up double digit seats in the House of Representatives,” said Dr. Belt. “Even though these seats are gerrymandered to be pretty close right now, you could see lots of pickups.”
Even though the President’s approval numbers are low, 70 percent of the people polled said they are dissatisfied with the Democratic party.
“Although that’s starting to change,” said Dr. Belt. “Even though people don’t like Donald Trump they don’t necessarily see Democrats as being a good alternate until recently. We’re starting to see a tick up what’s called the generic ballot, which is a question people would ask today: would you vote Republican or Democratic on your House race and that’s starting to creep up to what looks like finally the Democrats start to take advantage of Donald Trump’s unpopularity. The question is: will they be able to continue that until November?”
