44% like Don, best rating yet
While a majority of Americans still disapprove of President Trump’s performance in office, his overall job-approval rating has edged up to the highest point of his presidency so far, according to a new poll.
Trump’s approval rating among voting-age Americans rose from 39% in April to 44% in the latest Washington PostABC News poll, with 53% stating that they disapprove of his presidency. Of those actually registered to vote, 47% approved of Trump and 50% disapproved. That was up from a 42% approval rating in April with 54% disapproving, the poll noted.
The key to his ratings seemed to be the economy, with 51% of respondents approving of his job performance in that area, the poll said. It was the first time in his presidency that the measure was above 50%, ABC News noted.
His weak spot was the 65% of people who said he had acted “unpresidential” since taking office, but that was lower than the 70% registered in early 2018.
One-fifth of respondents who said Trump’s behavior wasn’t presidential still approved of the job he’s doing, the poll found.
“The survey highlights the degree to which Trump has a narrow but real path to reelection,” The Washington Post said in its analysis. At the same time, the results mark “his vulnerabilities in the 2020 election,” ABC News said.
Joe Biden leads against Trump by 10 points, but Trump was neck-and-neck against the other top Democratic contenders for president, the poll found. He was just two points below Kamala Harris, one below Bernie Sanders and tied with Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg among registered voters, ABC News noted.
The poll was conducted from June 28 through July 1 among 1,008 adults, the Post and ABC said.
Trump’s highest marks came from his handling of the economy, which had an approval rating of 51%, with 42% disapproving. It was a marked rise from January 2018, when just 38% of Americans credited Trump for economic performance and 56% said he should get little or none, the Washington Post noted.
His lowest rating was for his handling of climate change, with 29% of respondents approving of Trump’s job performance in that area while 62% disapproved.
In immigration policy and practices he had a 40% approval rating, with 57% disapproving. When it came to health care, 38% approved of his record and 54% disapproved.
Trump’s campaign officials told ABC News on Sunday morning the results put the president in a stronger position than incumbents such as Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. They also said Trump “will stress the issues, rather than matchups between any of the Democratic candidates.”