President’s approval falls following Charlottesville

President Donald Trump’s job approval decreased to 34 percent, the lowest of his administration so far by one point, during a three-day Gallup poll conducted Aug. 11-13. Though it can be hard to pinpoint exact reasons for changes in polling, Gallup’s poll covered the time where violence was occurring in Charlottesville on Aug.12. 

Past presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Harry Truman all received job approval ratings lower than 34 percent at some point, including a low of 22 percent by Truman in 1952, according to Gallup.

A separate NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found 52 percent of pollees believed Trump’s response to the Charlottesville violence was “not strong enough†to a 27 percent of pollees who disagreed and 21 percent who were unsure. The poll surveyed 1,125 Americans, and 80 percent of them were conducted following when the president said there were “many sides†to blame for the violence in Charlottesville.

Michael Sances, an assistant professor of political science at the U of M, said he thinks the president might “feel the need†to side with hate groups in order to substitute for something else.

“Trump is certainly not delivering on policy for white supremacists,†Sances said. “This may be why he feels compelled to publicly side with hate groups now and again — to substitute for policy victories.â€

Sances said it is “interesting†to examine the Trump administration’s policies regarding race and immigration. He also said Trump’s travel ban was “incompetently executed,†and the president’s next biggest move has been to phase out the DACA program. 

“But even that is not assured,†Sances said. “The president apparently supports legislation that would extend it and has even left open the possibility that he will extend it via executive order if necessary.â€Â 

Sances said voters “appear to have made up their mind about Trump long ago,†and the South in general has a current attachment to the Republican party. 

“Party attachment is so strong that it can override the fact that Trump is a real estate agent from New York City,†Sances said. 

Like the 52 percent of those polled in the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, Jeanae Cole, a 22-year-old psychology senior, agreed Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville could have been stronger.

During another news conference, the president said he thinks there is “blame on both sides,†and Cole said she believed the events were not “both-sided.â€

“Trump saying it’s both sides’ fault is just another ignorant thing that has come out of his mouth,†Cole said. “Absolutely no way it’s both sided. With someone consciously seeing people standing in the street, regardless if they are doing something that you like or not, you always have the option to turn around.â€