2017 US Politics - 38% of Americans Approve of Trump’s Handling of the Presidency (June 7)

Listen to The Point Being, a podcast from the Ipsos Polling Team, where Chris Jackson discusses this week’s numbers.

President Trump is again facing an up-tick in his disapproval numbers. Just 38% of Americans approve of Donald Trump’s handling of the presidency, with nearly six in ten disapproving (58%). Notably, more people strongly disapprove of President Trump (44%) than the total number who approve of him (38%). On specific attributes, there’s little change in Trump’s approval. The US economy (46%), employment and jobs (47%) and his dealing with ISIS/ISIL (48%) are still Trump’s best attributes, while the environment (36%) and ‘the way he treats people like me’ (36%) remain his worst.

In contrast, Congressional approval has jumped up 6 percentage points from last week, with over a quarter now approving of the way Congress as a whole is handling its job (28%). Although higher, this number is still significantly lower than the 44% who approve of the way their Congressperson is handling their job as Representative.

And after multiple European terrorist attacks in a matter of months, terrorism is now a top priority for Americans (17%), closely followed by healthcare (16%) and the economy (12%). Republicans are most likely to say terrorism is a priority with nearly a quarter saying it’s the most important problem facing the US (24%). Democrats are still focused on healthcare as the Senate continues to draft a new health bill (22%) and Independents are prioritizing the economy (17%).

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters June 2-6, 2017 For the survey, a sample of 2,371 Americans, ages 18+ were interviewed online.