Trump laughs off poll claim core support is slipping away

DONALD TRUMP said his voting base was “stronger than ever” yesterday as he attacked “phony polling” that showed some of his core supporters slipping away.

In doing so Mr Trump contradicted his own counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, a polling expert, who admitted support from “Trump voters” was “down slightly and needs to go up”.

Mr Trump spent his 200th day in office at his golf course in New Jersey in what White House officials called a “working vacation”. Writing on Twitter he said: “The Trump base is far bigger and stronger than ever before despite some phony Fake News polling. Look at rallies in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio and West Virginia.”

It followed a poll by Quinnipiac University showing his overall approval rating down to a new low of 33 per cent, from 40 per cent on June 29. There were falls in support among Republicans and non-university educated white voters, a key Trump demographic.

Mrs Conway said: “I would note, in some of the polling, which of course I scour daily on behalf of the president, his approval rating among Republicans and conservatives and Trump voters is down slightly.

“It needs to go up. They are telling him ‘just enact your programme’. Don’t worry about a congress that isn’t supporting legislation.”