Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Donald Trump's approval rating hits new low and only 34% of American voters think he's honest

President's popularity is slipping as controversies pile up

Jon Sharman
Wednesday 05 April 2017 16:30 BST
Comments
President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump's approval rating has hit a new low.

According to a poll by Quinnipiac University, just 35 per cent of voters approve of the President's handling of the top job — and even fewer people, 34 per cent, believe he is honest.

It is a significant drop from the 42 per cent approval Mr Trump held a few weeks into his tenure, which had fallen to 37 per cent by the time of Quinnipiac's 22 March poll. The latest figures are based on calls to 1,171 people across the US.

The university's findings matched those by Gallup last week. That company's results came in the aftermath of Mr Trump's executive order to reverse Barack Obama's "war on coal", and amid an FBI investigation into his campaign team's links to Russia.

Two days after he was made leader of the free world, Mr Trump had a respectable 45 per cent approval rating, according to Gallup.

He had previously teased Barack Obama for his ratings which, at their lowest, slipped to 38 per cent in both 2011 and 2014 with Gallup.

Tim Malloy, assistant poll director at Quinnipiac, said: "President Donald Trump continues to struggle, even among his most loyal supporters.

"Many of them would be hard pressed to see even a sliver of a silver lining in this troubling downward spiral.

"George W Bush, who hit a negative 28 - 67 per cent on 14 May, 2008, had less support, but it took eight years, two unpopular wars and a staggering economy to get there.

"As President Trump's approval tanks, Congress, especially Republicans, follow right behind him."

Mr Trump has faced a number of high-profile defeats in his attempts to implement his domestic agenda.

Two separate travel bans targeting Muslim-majority countries have been stymied by the courts and a long-promised bill repealing the Affordable Care Act did not gather enough support for a vote in Congress.

He has, however, taken swift action through executive orders on issues like the Dakota Access Pipeline and immigration.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in