Just for the record, incoming President John F. Kennedy had
the highest approval rating with 72% (1961) followed by President Jimmy Carter
in 1977 with 71%. Dwight “Ike”
Eisenhower, who had 67% in 1953. The worse approval rating for an incoming
president was Donald Trump in 2017 with a 40% approval rating. These are all,
of course, first terms.
Additionally, 40% of those polled thought that President
Trump was doing a better job than expected thus far in his second term, with over 70 signed executive orders, more than any president in their first 100 days in 40 years. 35% of those surveyed said he was actually doing worse than they originally thought he would and
25% thought he was doing as they thought he would. Overall, 51% of the
population is giving Trump an overall thumbs up. Nevertheless, 49% disagree. So,
it would appear that all in all, “The Donald” is off to a good start, or is he?
When it comes to the economy, public support isn’t where it
should be with just 35% approving of Trump’s handling of the economy. 48% said
they disapprove of how the economy is going under Trump. For reference
purposes, Obama’s disapproval rating of the economy was 65% at the point in his
second term.
53% of those polled said that tariffs are going to hurt the
economy. 46% believe that Trump’s economy policies in general are hurting the
economy while only 28% actually approve of his handling of the economy and 26%
are either unsure at this point or don’t think his policies will have a serious
immediate impact.
With respect to the economy, his approval rating was 42% two
weeks ago according to Gallup. Foreign trade, which takes into consideration
the tariffs Trump has imposed, has a disapproval rating of 53% with 5%
unsure.
When it came to foreign affairs, the Gallup poll reported
that Trump’s handling of the situation in the Middle East between Israel and
Hamas (as well as the Palestinians) polled a 51% disapproval rating with 9% not
sure. As for the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, his approval
percentage stood at 40% with a whooping 14% “unsure”, which statistically is a
rather large number given that his disapproval rating was just 6 percentage
points higher.
On a slightly unrelated matter, the same Gallup poll said
that 93% of Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance thus far. On the
other hand, only 4% of Democrats were happy with President Trump. Among the
nation’s largest voting bloc, Independents, Trump had an approval rating of
37%.
It bears mentioning that the 89% gap between Republican and
Democrat approval rating is the largest Gallup has ever recorded for any
president at any time. That dear readers is history making.
On the same issues, Democrats gave the president an approval
rating of 6% on immigration and foreign trade (tariffs being the biggest
concern). When it came to foreign affairs, just 4% of Democrats approved of
Trump’s policies while 5% like his handling of the economy (again, tariffs are
a major factor). Trump polled the highest on his dealings with Ukraine/Russia
and with the Middle East with a respective approval rating of 9% and 8%.
When the nation’s largest voting bloc, Independents, were
asked, President Trump did a much better. With a 37% overall approval rate,
Trump had a 40% positive rating on his handling of the illegal immigration
issue. 37% like his handling of foreign affairs. However, when it came to
foreign trade, the Middle East, and the Ukraine/Russian war, Trump managed only
33% each. His worse poll number was the economy with 31%.
As an aside, the Gallup Poll had some encouraging news for
Congress. The approval rating for the “Millionaire’s Club” went from a pathetic
13% in May 2024 to a dismal 29% at the end of February 2025. Way to go folks! You
need another raise.
A CNN Poll conducted on March 5th, just after President Trump’s tariffs against
China, Canada, and Mexico went into effect resulted in a drop of 1300 points in
the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% while the Nasdaq saw a drop of 0.35% as the markets braced for the inevitable
retaliatory response from America’s biggest importers.
President Trump’s first address to Congress (which ran a
record setting one hour and 40 minutes) was received well according to a poll
conducted by a CBS poll. According to the results, 69% of viewers approved of
the speech. A YouGov poll put the approval numbers higher at 76%.
According to the CBS poll, the majority of the 37 million
who watched Trump’s speech were Republicans, 51%, while 27% were Independents
and 20% were Democrats. 74% thought Trump’s presentation was “presidential” as
well as “entertaining” while 71% said they were “inspired” by the speech.
63% of those surveyed
said Trump focused on topics that mattered the most to them, especially eliminating
government waste and cutting back on unnecessary spending (77%) which is being led
by Elon Musk’s “DOGE” or Department of Government Efficiency program. Equally,
77% approved of President Trump’s plans for reducing illegal immigration and
reforming our immigration system. Imposing tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico
as well as his comments regarding the Ukraine/Russian war also received strong
approval numbers.
Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats received a wave of negative backlash to their “protest” of the president’s speech, most notably Trump’s introduction of 13 year old cancer survivor Devarjay “DJ” Danie (“DJ” has been fighting brain cancer). The most common response about the Democrat’s refusal to acknowledge the young man was “heartless” and “cruel”. It certainly wasn’t their best moment. In addition to be honored by the president, “DJ” was made an honorary Secret Service agent by Steve Curran, the new director of the Secret Service.
Finally, where is President Trump falling down? According to
a new CNN poll released March 12th, healthcare is really hurting the
president. Just 48% of Americans approve of the president’s policies toward
updating healthcare, which may mean reducing benefits (especially for seniors),
higher premiums to offset promises of lower prescription costs on certain
medications.
The poll also shows Trump’s tariff measures are increasingly
unpopular with a 61% disapproval as was his management of government with just
a 48% approval rating. In fact, out of eight key issues, the new poll showed
Trump has positive numbers on just one---his handling of illegal immigration.
With every incoming administration there is a so-called “honeymoon”
period, also known as the “100 days”. Few presidents anymore get the 100 days
of their predecessors, and as for “The Donald”, it looks like the honeymoon
period, if there really ever was one, is over and we’re headed for a rocky
marriage at best.
So, where does that leave us? Most of the mainstream media, with laughable façade
of “impartiality”, has long ago accused
and indicted Trump while excusing the sins and treason of others, so don’t expect
any objectivity. The partisan divide in America is perhaps too wide and too deep
for Donald Trump, or any future president for that matter, to overcome.
War has long been our
more profitable export. It’s unaffected by tariffs or quotas. It artificially stimulates the economy and
rids us of “excess” human capital, reducing official unemployment numbers,
while ensuring the empire expands. But is that what we really need or want?
What America needs is a strong leader who can redirect the economy to industrial and technological expansion, but that often means leaving people at the lowest rung of the ladder aside. That’s where trade and technical schools can help. A college education is not for everyone. However, equal opportunities doesn't always mean equal outcomes. Success comes with a lot of hard work and setbacks. Creating a level global playing field is another. Fair and balanced competition is good for all participants.
President Donald Trump is a “for profit” businessman attempting
to manage a non-profit governmental system. The last “for profit” businessman to occupy
the White House was “Silent” Cal Coolidge during the 1920’s. His famous maxim was
“the business of America is business”, yet his policies in the long run helped
set the stage for the Great Depression under Hoover’s watch. That led to FDR's "New Deal" and ultimately WWII. These are no less dangerous
times for America. There’s an old
expression, made popular in 1929, “when America sneezes the rest of the world
catches a cold” and there’s a strong cold wind blowing.
Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the
Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle". Here at
"A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as
they exist, not partisan talking points. We hope you find our
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the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you.
Trump’s approval dips amid concerns over the economy: Poll
Dow Drops 1300 Points in Two Days Amid Trump’s Trade War
New CNN poll: Americans are negative on Trump’s handling ofeconomy
Donald Trump Approval Rating: March 12 Update as Unease OverEconomy Grows
50 Wins In 50 Days: President Trump Delivers for the Americans
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