Just 24 percent say U.S. heading in right direction

WASHINGTON — Just 24 percent of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction after a tumultuous stretch for President Donald Trump that included the threat of war with North Korea, stormy complaints about hurricane relief and Trump’s equivocating about white supremacists. That’s a 10-point drop since June, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The decline in optimism about the nation’s trajectory is particularly pronounced among Republicans. In June, 60 percent of Republicans said the country was headed in the right direction; now it’s just 44 percent.

The broader picture for the president is grim, too. Nearly 70 percent of Americans say Trump isn’t level-headed, and majorities say he’s not honest or a strong leader. More than 60 percent disapprove of how he is handling race relations, foreign policy and immigration, among other issues.

Overall, 67 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing in office, including about one-third of Republicans.

Tracy Huelsman, a 40-year-old from Louisville, Ky., is among them. A selfdescribed moderate Republican, Huelsman said she’s particularly concerned about the “divisiveness” she feels the president promotes on social media.

“It’s scary in 2017 that we are in what seems like a worse place in terms of division,” said Huelsman, who did not vote for Trump in last year’s election.

The assessments come after a turbulent summer for Trump that included a major White House shake-up, bringing the departure of his chief of staff, top strategist and press secretary. While the installment of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as chief of staff has ushered in more day-to-day order in the West Wing, the president has still stirred up numerous controversies, including when he blamed “both sides” for the clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump has also raised the specter of a military conflict with North Korea over its nuclear provocations. He’s derided North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, as “rocket man,” including during a speech at the United Nations, and has downplayed the prospects that diplomatic negotiations with Kim could yield results.