2018 US Politics - President Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Remains Steady, at 40% (February 21)

Following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, President Donald Trump’s approval rating remains steady, at 40% among all Americans. However, 10% of Americans perceive crime as the number one issue facing America, a 4-point increase from the beginning of the year. Despite the school shooting, healthcare (16%) continues to be the number one issue in the public’s mind, followed by terrorism (12%) and the economy in general (12%).

Americans continue to disapprove the way their congressperson is handling their job.  Just four in ten Americans (39%) approve of their congressperson’s job performance, a 6-point decrease since last week. This drop was driven largely by Republicans (49%) and Independents (25%), whose approval of their congressperson dropped 7-points and 5-points respectively. Forty-three percent of Democrats approve of their congressperson. Just one in five Americans (19%) approve of Congress as a whole, a 4-point decrease since last week.

Democrats continue to lead in the 2018 generic congressional ballot, with 38% of Americans stating that they would vote for the Democratic candidate if the elections for U.S. Congress were held today. Just 30% of Americans would vote for the Republican candidate.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters February 16 -20, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 1,104 Americans, including 445 Democrats,  383 Republicans, 141 Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.