Poll portrays an unhappy America

Most disagree with Trump but take hope in economy

“It’s not a good climate out there.” John Sakach, 80, of Chicago

Americans overwhelmingly disagree with President Trump on just about everything from his military threats to North Korea to his combative stance toward NFL players who won’t stand for the national anthem.

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll also finds an unusual disconnect: Americans are increasingly optimistic about the nation’s economy.

“He’s just really intent on keeping the nation divided,” says William Reed, 52, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton last year and was among those polled. “No empathy, no compassion; just all about him and tweeting.”

Trump’s defenders counter that he has faced tough problems and unrelenting opposition from his political foes. “It’s not a good climate out there, and he’s navigating through it,” John Sakach, 80, the owner of a construction-supply business in suburban Chicago, says in a follow-up interview.

For the first time during Trump’s presidency, a majority of Americans, 53%, say in the USA TODAY poll that the economy is in a recovery. That typically would lift views that the nation is headed in the right direction. This time, nearly two-thirds, or 64%, say the country is on the wrong track, up 21 percentage points since the beginning of the year and the highest of Trump’s tenure.

As Trump approaches the oneyear anniversary of his election in November, his underwater approval ratings and the public’s anxiety hold perils for his presidency.

They embolden his critics and make it harder for him to push legislative proposals such as a tax bill through Congress.

Historically, sagging presidential approval ratings signal trou-

ble for the party in power in midterm elections.

Americans hold just about everybody in politics in low esteem, not to mention the news media.

Congress gets a whopping unfavorable rating of 64%-17%.

The Democratic Party is viewed unfavorably by double digits, 48%-37%. The GOP fares worse, 62%-23%. Vice President Pence’s unfavorable rating is better than Trump’s (57%-34%), but it’s still in negative territory, at

44%-36%.

The news media is viewed unfavorably by 54%-31%, worse than the dismal 50%-37% unfavorable rating in the first poll of the year.

Those surveyed say, by 57%

33%, that they want to elect a Congress in 2018 that would mostly stand up to Trump, not mostly cooperate with him. That includes almost one in five Republicans, as well as the predictable partisan divide: Nine of 10 Democrats call for an opposition Congress. Independents also hold that view by 2-1.

DIPLOMACY OR MILITARY?

When it comes to North Korea, Americans are more likely to agree with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson than with his boss.

By 3-1, 61%-20%, Americans say the United States should pursue diplomacy to try to curtail North Korea’s nuclear program, not undertake military action. By 69%-15%, they say the United States should launch military strikes only in response to a North Korean attack, not as a pre-emptive step.

“There’s a place for the military, absolutely, but when dealing with nuclear weapons, you have to try diplomacy first,” says Annie Davis, 41, of Greenville, S.C., the manager of a veterinary clinic who was among those polled. “There are civilians on both sides.”

Saturday, in Beijing, Tillerson said the United States “made it clear that we hope to resolve this through talks,” saying his immediate goal was “to calm things down” with North Korea.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump tweeted Sunday, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”

Those surveyed disapprove of the president’s handling of North Korea by 56%-34%.

Both Trump supporters and critics agree that the president inherited a complicated and dangerous standoff with Pyongyang, and there is no easy path ahead. “This guy, Kim, is a very unstable man and has no respect for the nuclear issue, which goes all the way back to when Bill Clinton was in office,” says Doug Johnson, 54, of Hannibal, Mo. “If you could take care of that with diplomacy, I would be 100% for that, but I don’t think that’s the case here.”

OBAMACARE REPAIR

Six in 10 Americans, 59%, say Congress should either leave the Affordable Care Act alone or fix the problems with the program but leave its framework intact. That’s up 6 percentage points since June.

Trust in Trump to protect the interests of Americans and their families on health care has fallen to 15%. Only 10% say they trust congressional Republicans most; 43% trust congressional Democrats.

Those surveyed express dismay and bewilderment that legislators haven’t been able to work together.

“I want them speaking to each other, honestly and wholeheartedly working for a compromise,” says Meg Ashworth, 57, a homemaker from Lebanon, Ohio.

GOOD TIMES GONE

Gone is the good feeling after the president’s address to a joint session of Congress early in the year. Just after that, by 46%-43%, Americans said things were headed in the right direction. Now, by a yawning 40 percentage points, 64%-24%, they say things are on the wrong track.

That includes a third of Republicans.

“He’s not doing his job the way he’s supposed to do,” worries Robert Pounds, 58, of Aiken, S.C., who voted for Trump last year. “I’d like to see him get health care figured out. I’d like him to stand up and get more jobs in America, like he said he would. I know he’s a rich fellow, but he needs to start helping America.”

By 57%-33%, those surveyed say Trump mostly hasn’t delivered on his campaign promises.