Tuesday, July 23, 2019

President Trump's Job Approval Rating Reaches High Mark in NPR/PBS/Marist Poll After Racist Tweets
William Cummings, USA TODAY
3:36 p.m. ET July 22, 2019

President Donald Trump dug in Tuesday on his comments directed at four progressive Democratic congresswomen of color, insisting they can "go wherever they want or they can stay," adding, "They shouldn't hate our country."

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's job approval rating so far does not appear to have been negatively impacted by the racist tweets he sent last week telling four Democratic congresswomen of color that they should "go back" and fix their countries of origin before trying to make changes in the U.S.

In fact, his approval rating among registered voters nationally reached a new high at 44% in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Monday. But overall, the president is underwater with voters: 52% of those polled disapprove of the job he is doing. The poll was conducted from July 15-17, which was after the tweet he sent on July 14 and was condemned in a House resolution on Tuesday.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7%.

Trump's previous job approval rating high in a Marist poll was 43%, a mark he reached in February. His low of 35% in the poll came in August 2017.

Last week, a USA TODAY/Ipsos poll found that 68% of Americans considered Trump's tweets aimed at the four congresswomen to be offensive and 59% said they were "un-American."

Trump's support in the Marist poll was sharply divided along party lines, with 90% of Democrats saying they disapprove of the job he has done and 90% of Republicans saying they approve. With independent voters, the president's approval rating was 42% and his disapproval was at 53%.

"Independents are on the fence overall," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College. "They're not willing to grant President Trump reelection, and yet they're not persuaded by Democrats at this point."

When it came to the ideas being offered by the Democrats running for president, 43% of registered voters said they thought Democrats would move the country in the right direction, while 48% said they would not. Among independents, the number of people saying Democratic candidates would move the country in the right direction fell to 40%.

Trump's approval and disapproval ratings among white supporters were both at 48%. Thirty-five percent of nonwhite respondents said they approved of the job he was doing, while 59% disapproved.

When registered voters were asked if they planned to vote for Trump in 2020, 39% said they would definitely vote for him, 53% said they would definitely vote against him and 8% said they weren't sure. Trump's strongest demographic support was among white men without a college degree. Fifty-seven percent of registered voters within that group said they would definitely vote to reelect the president.

The 2020 candidates: Who is running for president? An interactive guide

The majority of registered voters said they approved of Trump's handling of the economy, 52%-44%. But two-thirds said they thought the economy was working well for them personally, including 62% of independents.

The poll found Democratic voters are still open-minded about who they will support in their party's primary. Eighty-two percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they still weren't sure who they voting for, while 17% said they had already decided.

Fifty-four percent said the most important thing was electing a nominee who can defeat Trump and 42% said it was supporting someone who shares their political positions.

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