Trump’s approval rating falls to record low
Donald Trump is only two months in and his approval rating has fallen to a new low, according to the latest Gallup poll, the Independent reports.
The President’s approval has dropped three points this weekend to 37 per cent, the lowest point since Mr Trump stepped into the White House.
Other Presidents have suffered even lower ratings during their time in office, but this is the first time in at least 70 years that any President dipped to this point by March of their first term, found Gallup.
Gallup’s findings come shortly before the Congressional hearing on Russia and whether the country interfered in the 2016 election to give the Republican candidate a boost. Both parties have flatly denied the allegations.
The record low for Mr Trump also comes a day before FBI Director James Comey is expected to throw cold water on his claims, based on reports from RT Today and Fox News, that former President Barack Obama and the UK illegally wiretapped Trump Tower before the election.
The Gallup numbers, based on a three-day rolling average, have been released the same weekend that the President finishes up his tenth golf trip since his Inauguration – more than his predecessor, who he accused of golfing too much.
Mr Trump also questioned why Mr Obama had a “record low” Gallup approval rating of 39 per cent in August 2011 – a low bar that Mr Trump has now surpassed. The poll calculates approval ratings by surveying around 1,500 American adults on the telephone, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
The business tycoon-turned-politician entered office on 20 January with an approval rating of around 45 per cent, but it had dipped to 38 per cent less than one month later.
In the first weeks of his term, he has attacked intelligence agencies and the media for being “dishonest” and pedalling “fake news”. Several of his executive orders to ban travellers from at least six Muslim-majority countries were struck down by federal judges who called the orders “unconstitutional” as they were based on anti-Muslim sentiment.
