WASHINGTON (AP) – Approval ratings for President Donald Trump’s way of running the government have fallen sharply since the beginning of his second term, and much of the growing dissatisfaction is coming from Republicans, according to the latest Associated Press-NORC poll.
Questionnaire from Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center carried out after the Democratic Party Recent victories in off-year elections But before Congress could take any major steps toward ending it. longest shutdown in the history of the United States. This shows that only 33% of American adults approve of the way the Republican president is running the government, down from 43% a year ago. March AP-NORC poll.
The main reason for this was a decline in support among Republicans and independents. According to the survey, only about two-thirds of Republicans, or 68%, approve of President Trump’s administration, down from 81% in March. Support among independents fell from 38% to 25%.
The results highlight the risks posed by a government shutdown, which President Trump and his administration, like most American adults, have sought to shift squarely to Democrats. assign responsibility to both parties The lack of funding has disrupted air traffic, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks and left food aid to some of the most vulnerable Americans. But it could also indicate widespread dissatisfaction with President Trump’s other dramatic and polarizing changes to the federal government in recent months, including dismantling government agencies and commandeering. wave of mass layoffs.
President Trump’s support for government management weakens among Republicans
Republicans generally remain firmly in support of the president, and their dissatisfaction is particularly noticeable.
Beverly Lucas, 78, a Republican and former educator who lives in Ormond Beach, Florida, said she was “absolutely shaken by the 40-some-day government shutdown,” and likened President Trump’s second term to “an angry child in the White House with unmitigated powers.”
“When people were hungry, he threw a party,” she said of the Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “I thought he seemed callous.”
The survey found that an overwhelming majority of Democrats (95%) continue to disapprove of how President Trump is running the federal government, up from 89% in March.
President Trump’s overall approval rating remains stable
Despite declining support for his administration, new polls show President Trump’s overall approval rating is stable. Roughly one-third of American adults, 36%, approve of his overall response as president, roughly in line with the 37% found in an October AP-NORC poll. Support for his handling of key issues like immigration and the economy has also changed little since last month.
Healthcare emerged as an important issue in the debate over the closure of medical institutions. Democrats demanded Trump is said to be negotiating with Republicans to extend tax credits that expire on January 1, but Trump’s approval ratings on the issue, which were already quite low, have changed little.
In a November poll, 34%, or about a third of Americans, said they supported President Trump’s health care policy, compared to 31% in October.
And many of his supporters still support him. Susan McDuffie, 74, a Republican from Carson City, Nevada, who retired several years ago, said she has “a lot of confidence in President Trump” and thinks the country is on the right path. She blames Democrats for the government shutdown and the suffering it has caused.
“I just don’t understand how Democrats can have such disrespect for the people,” she said, mocking the idea that Democrats are using the government shutdown to force Republicans to address soon-to-be-soaring health care costs.
“I have zero patience for Democrats and their excuses,” she said, and people who are afraid of this. Advantages of Snap Running out of time or struggling to put food on the table are more pressing issues.
a lot of criticism arises
There is still a lot of blame to be placed on closures. recent opinion polls Republicans may be showing some enthusiasm, but many suggest they also think Democrats are at fault.
“I truly believe that everyone is like that. They’re all stubborn,” said Nora Bailey, 33, a moderate who lives in the Batesville, Arkansas, area and is not affiliated with either party.
After recently giving birth, she said she faced delays in getting a breast pump through a government program that helps new mothers while her son was in intensive care. And she worries about her disabled parents, who rely on SNAP food stamp benefits.
Overall, he said he has mixed feelings about the way President Trump is conducting his job and is dissatisfied with how he is running the federal government because he doesn’t think he’s doing enough to address waste.
“We haven’t done enough yet to say we’ve shrunk the federal government instead of overstaffing it,” she said.
Once the government reopens, President Trump’s support for the federal response could be restored. But the showdown could have a more lasting impact on perceptions of the president, whose support for the economy and immigration has declined slightly since the spring.
Lucas, R-Florida, said a government shutdown that doesn’t pay civilians is the wrong way to address ideological differences.
“Air traffic controllers? Really? You don’t want to pay the people who hold your life in their hands every day?” she said. “We need to approach these conflicts as intelligent human beings, not as playground thugs and bullies.”
___ Colvin reported from New York.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,143 adults was conducted Nov. 6-10 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all adults is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
