2018 US Politics - 43% of Registered Voters Report they Approve of President Trump’s Job Performance (August 22)

With just 76 days until the November election for Congress, 43% of registered voters report they approve of President Trump’s job performance, this is statistically unchanged from last week (44%). Perceptions of President Trump’s performance are driven largely by partisanship with just 13% of Democrats approving compared to 82% of Republicans and 35% of Independents. President Trump continues to receive his highest marks on employment and jobs with a majority of Americans approving of his performance (52%). Americans are more critical when evaluating Trump’s handling of the environment (36%), Russia (37%), and the way he treats ordinary people (37%).

Shifting to the generic congressional ballot, among registered voters, Republicans (37%) trail Democrats (41%) by 4-points when asked which candidate they would vote for if the election were held today. Democrats (84%) and Republicans (83%) remain loyal to their respective parties. Independents remain torn between Democrats (19%), Republicans (19%) and a candidate from another party (19%). Just half of registered voters (49%) approve the way their congressperson is handling their job as representative. This number is higher among Republicans (59%) who are more likely to say they approve of their representative. Democrats (44%) and Independents (38%) are less generous with their evaluations of their legislators.

Americans maintain a pessimistic outlook when asked to consider the direction of the country, with only one in three  Americans (33%) and registered voters (36%) reporting they believe the country is headed in the right direction. Healthcare is the most common concern, with 18% of Americans reporting healthcare to be the most important problem facing the United States today. Immigration (13%) and the economy (12%) are the next most important issues.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters between August 15-21, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 2,245 Americans, including 1,885 registered voters, 784 Democrats, 791 Republicans, and 223 Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.