Trump’s Approval Ratings Are Bad News for Democrats

Published September 24, 2019

The Washington Post

By Henry Olsen

Something big happened to President Trump this week, and it’s not the Ukraine scandal. His job approval ratings have returned to where they were before his big August slump — and that’s bad news for the Democrats.

Trump clearly had a terrible late summer. Starting with his tweet that the four progressive Democratic House members who call themselves “the Squad” should “go back” to the countries they purportedly were from (only one of the four, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, is an immigrant), Trump’s job approval ratings declined significantly. From a pre-tweet high of 45.1 percent in the RealClearPolitics average on July 8, Trump’s ratings dropped more than two points before bottoming out at 42.7 percent earlier this month. That’s a terrible rating for a president barely more than a year out from reelection.

But now that Congress has returned and he’s no longer engaged in a battle with Democratic women of color, his ratings are up. They sit at 45.3 percent as of Tuesday afternoon, thanks to a recent Emerson Poll putting Trump’s approval rating at 48 percent, a 2½-year high for Trump. He’s still lower than a president should be if he wants to be reelected, but he’s on the way back.

Click here to read the rest of this piece at the Washington Post’s website.

Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Most Read

1

How Lincoln Can Help Trump

 Henry Olsen

2

EPPC Files Amicus Briefs in Supreme Court Supporting States’ Right to Limit Insurance Coverage for “Gender Transitions”

 Eric Kniffin

3

EPPC Files Ninth Circuit Amicus Brief in Support of World Vision’s Right to Hire Employees Adhere to its Religious Beliefs

 Rachel N. Morrison

4

Sixth Circuit Panel Muddles Loper Bright, Botches Spending Clause

 Edward Whelan
EPPC BRIEFLY
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up to receive EPPC's biweekly e-newsletter of selected publications, news, and events.

SEARCH

Your support impacts the debate on critical issues of public policy.

Donate today

Related Publications

McCarthy’s debt plan needs an endgame. Here’s what it could look like.

Henry Olsen

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s budget and debt-limit plan is full of good policies, but it is more of an opening offer for…

Articles

The Washington Post / April 24, 2023

This Arizona town captures America’s deepening rural-urban divide

Henry Olsen

Arizona’s rapid transformation from a Republican bastion to a swing state is largely a story about the divergence between suburban…

Articles

The Washington Post / March 23, 2023

Republicans need a counteroffer to Biden’s Medicare fix

Henry Olsen

Olsen describes the tactics the GOP should use against the Biden Administration as a way to get leverage politically.

Articles

The Washington Post / March 8, 2023

The U.S.-Israeli alliance is getting testy. Don’t expect it to improve.

Henry Olsen

Olsen discusses the tense alliance between the U.S. and Israel. The Biden Administration is clashing with right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Articles

The Washington Post / February 20, 2023