Trump’s job approval rating stuck at low point: poll

President Trump’s job approval rating remains at its low point for the second consecutive month, according to the latest data from the Harvard CAPS–Harris Poll survey.

The poll found that 41 percent approve of the job Trump is doing, compared to 59 percent who disapprove. Trump first hit 41 percent in November, which marks the lowest job approval rating the president has registered in the Harvard CAPS–Harris survey.

Trump’s favorability rating is even lower than his job approval rating, at 39 positive and 57 negative.

Trump still has strong support from Republicans, with 78 percent saying they approve of the job he is doing, although only 38 percent of independents are satisfied with Trump’s job performance.

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Overall, 56 percent of voters say the country is on the wrong track, compared to 32 percent who say it is on the right track.

A majority of voters approve of the job Trump is doing on the economy and fighting terrorism, but he is underwater on the issues of immigration, foreign affairs and administering the government.

“Trump has stabilized at 41 but the good economy hasn’t improved his ratings as lack of major legislative accomplishments and being embroiled in Twitter battles hold him back,” said Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS–Harris survey. “Majorities support his handling of both the economy and terrorism and that’s something neither Bush nor Obama were able to achieve, these two together long-term. These are big assets for any president he has been unable to leverage.”

The economy is a bright spot for Trump — 47 percent say it is on the right track, compared to 39 who said it was on the wrong track.

Trump’s approval rating is also better than the Republican Party’s as a whole. Only 33 percent approve of the job the GOP-controlled Congress is doing, although that is an improvement over November, when the party’s approval rating had sunk to 28 percent.

Even Republicans have a low opinion of Republicans in Congress. Last month, only a slim majority of Republicans, 52 percent, approved of the job GOP leaders were doing. Now, boosted by successful tax-reform efforts, 66 percent of Republicans approve. The House and Senate have passed tax reform bills and there is hope the overhaul will be signed into law before the end of the year.

The Democratic Party’s overall job approval rating is at 35 percent, with 62 percent of Democrats approving of the job their party is doing.

The public is split on Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, with 51 percent saying they oppose the move.

Fifty-seven percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of North Korea, although there is majority support — 55 percent — for his efforts to renegotiate the nuclear deal with Iran.

“Republicans have an opportunity to turn a corner with tax reform as the gap between the parties closed up somewhat this month,” said Penn. “The voters back stopping North Korea from getting nuclear weapons and favor renegotiating the Iran deal but they are uncertain whether his tougher approach will work and are uncomfortable with it. He will need some results here or it will be a drag on his domestic ratings.”

The Harvard-Harris Poll online survey of 1,995 registered voters was conducted between Dec. 8 and Dec. 11. The partisan breakdown is 36 percent Democrat, 32 percent Republican, 29 percent independent and 3 percent other.

The Harvard CAPS–Harris Poll survey is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and The Harris Poll. The Hill will be working with Harvard CAPS–Harris Poll throughout 2017.

The Harvard CAPS–Harris Poll survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.