Poll: Trump controversies make him more popular among supporters

Some of President Trump’s supporters expressed a more favorable view of him following a number of recent controversies surrounding his administration, according to an online poll released Thursday.

In a handful of cases, while most registered voters expressed a negative view of Trump after the controversies, a plurality of Trump voters felt more favorably toward him, according to the Politico/Morning Consult poll.

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Nearly 20 percent of respondents said the polled controversies did not change their opinions of the president.

Some of the controversies in the poll include the resignation of Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from investigations into Russian intervention in the election and claims from Trump and his top spokesman about the size of crowds at his inauguration in January.

Trump’s tweet accusing media of being “the enemy of the American people” and his baseless claim on Twitter early this month that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower were two controversies his supporters liked most, according to the poll.

His net favorability among supporters increased 31 points following his media attack, while it fell 15 points among registered voters in general. 

Similarly, Trump saw a 21-point boost in favorability among supporters over his wiretapping claim, though his favorability among registered voters overall fell 20 points.

Trump voters expressed less favorable opinions about him – in the single digits – following two controversies.

His favorability among all registered voters dropped a whopping 27 points when asked about him allegedly discussing classified information related to North Korea’s nuclear developments at his Mar-a-Lago club, a non-secure area. Trump’s net favorability among supporters only increased by 2 points.

The president’s favorability among all registered voters also plummeted 23 points on the question of senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway publicly promoting Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand on television, while it increased among supporters by 9 points.

Trump has faced overall low approval ratings since taking office. Just 37 percent approve of the job he is doing, compared to 56 percent who disapprove, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

The national Morning Consult poll of 1,927 registered voters was conducted March 16–19 online and has a margin of error of 2 points.