2017 US Politics - Trump Continues to Divide and Energise the American Public (February 1)
Listen to The Point Being, a new podcast from the Ipsos Polling Team, where Chris Jackson and Phil Elwood discuss this week’s numbers.
Trends
With the recent events abroad, terrorism has returned as the #2 issue for Americans (top issue for 15% of the country). Republicans are significantly more worried about terrorism (20%) than Democrats (12%).
- The economy remains top of mind for most Americans, with nearly a fifth (16%) of all American reporting the economy as their biggest concern.
Overall, 52% of Americans believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Democrats (71%) and Independents (56%) feel a similar amount of pessimism, while Republicans are far more optimistic (30%).
Approval
President Trump’s approval ratings have him with just under one half of Americans approving of him (46%). Slightly more say that they disapprove of the job that he’s doing (47%).
On specific issues, President Trump’s approval is more positive. Over half of Americans approve of the way he is handling employment and jobs (55%) and roughly half approve of his handling of the economy (52%). On the other hand, President gets low approval marks for his handling the environment (39% approve) and the way he treats ‘people like me’ (41% approve).
