The Washington Post's latest national survey is chock full of dreadful news for President Trump and the White House. Right in line with most other polling, the data set shows Trump's approval rating is in the high 30's -- which is historically terrible for a president at this stage of his first term in office. The internals on leadership qualities and handling of issues are also a pile of awful. A few lowlights:
(1) Overall approval: (37/59) or (-22)
(2) Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of voters say he's accomplished "little or nothing" in office thus far.
(3) Despite strong economic numbers, he's nine points underwater (44/53) on the issue, sitting at (26/70) on healthcare, (28/70) on race relations, and (43/55) on terrorism.
(4) Roughly six-in-ten (59 percent) say Trump is not a strong leader, with lopsided majorities voters saying he's dishonest and lacks the temperament to effectively serve as president.
(5) Sixty-two percent of respondents say the president doesn't understand the struggles of people like them, and nearly as many say he's not a good dealmaker.
If these dreadful statistics look familiar, they should. Trump found himself in similarly poor shape on election day, based on vast exit polling conducted among the voters who...elected him. Go back and juxtapose some of the statistics listed above to the 2016 exits; it's really quite striking. So perhaps it shouldn't feel quite so remarkable that in spite of his atrocious standing in WaPo's figures -- and despite her exhausting and obnoxious efforts to foster a national climate of buyers' remorse -- Trump is deadlocked with Hillary in the survey's hypothetical rematch. They may despite him by heavy margins, ma'am, but they'll never be into you:
Trump has the worst approval rating of any POTUS at this point ever & Hillary *still* couldn't beat him in an election do-over. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/E6KDEWilSg
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) November 6, 2017
Buried lede: Despite Trump's dismal numbers, he'd still tie Clinton if election was held again today. https://t.co/UkPwKPgDh9
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) November 5, 2017
As for Democrats beyond 'Crooked H,' their substantial early lead on the 2018 generic Congressional ballot vanishes into a statistical tie among likely voters who turned out in the last midterm cycle:
New ABC/WaPo poll: Democratic advantage in 2018 midterm preference fades to insignificance among most likely voters. https://t.co/RCGegK3xxZ pic.twitter.com/i8qTaEVq2A
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 6, 2017
The Democratic base may be more motivated to show up next year than they were in 2010 or 2014 (when the current dynamics were reversed) but their party shouldn't take that for granted. By the same token, the GOP shouldn't bank on a right-slanted midterm electorate either. Also, asked whether the (shambolic) Democratic Party has a positive agenda and vision for the future, or if they're just knee-jerk Trump critics, America's verdict isn't exactly inspiring:
WaPo poll (D+8) brutal for Trump, but he's still tied in a hypothetical do-over w/ HRC. And Dems seen as reflexive/unproductive critics: pic.twitter.com/h9tobQA8tq
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 6, 2017
But hey, sneering at prayer in the wake of ghastly mass shootings -- especially one at a church, apparently perpetrated by an atheist targeting Christians -- in pursuit of partisan "solutions" should definitely help turn things around. Either that, or just keep smearing the other party's voters as bloodthirsty racists. Everything's going great, guys.
