CNN poll: 48 percent had ‘very positive’ reaction to Trump speech

Nearly half of those who watched President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday reacted “very” positively to the speech, according to a snap CNN/SSRS poll. 

According to that survey, the results of which were announced on-air on CNN, 48 percent of respondents said they had a “very positive” reaction to the speech — Trump’s first since taking office. Only 22 percent said they had a “somewhat positive” reaction to the speech, while 29 percent reacted negatively.

The results of that poll came less than two hours after Trump finished delivering his speech, in which he touted the tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks of his first year in office and outlined his ambitions to revitalize the nation’s infrastructure and take on immigration reform.

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Sixty-two percent of respondents said that the policies outlined by the president on Tuesday would move the country in the right direction, according to the CNN/SSRS poll. By comparison, 35 percent said they would move it in the wrong direction.

But respondents remained relatively divided on whether or not Trump is capable of carrying out his duties as president. Forty-two percent said they are confident the president can do so, while 15 percent described themselves as “somewhat confident.” Forty-three percent said they are not confident in Trump’s capability.

While the early numbers show a general approval of Trump’s message on Tuesday night, they may have little impact on Republicans’ electoral success in the 2018 midterm elections.

A similar CNN poll after former President George W. Bush’s 2006 State of the Union address put positive reactions at 48 percent. As did a 2010 poll after former President Obama’s first State of the Union, according to CNN. Both presidents’ parties lost control of the House in midterm elections those years.