Quinnipiac Poll: Trump Approval Hits New Low; Voters Don’t Like Democrats, But Want Them Running Congress – CT News Junkie
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CT News Junkie
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HAMDEN, CT — President Donald Trump’s approval rating has reached a new low in his second term, according to the results from a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
According to a poll of 1,106 registered voters between May 14 and May 18, 34% approved of Trump’s performance, while 58% disapproved. This is a drop from the school’s April 15 poll, which showed Trump held 38% approval, according to the university.
In addition, Trump’s approval on his handling of the economy has also fallen, particularly among Republicans.
“What was perhaps the signature issue that propelled Trump to winning two elections sours with voters and cracks form in GOP enthusiasm for his handling of the economy,” said Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy.
On the economy, Republicans approve of Trump’s performance by a 73% – 24% margin, a decline of 15 percentage points from the April 15 poll, when Republicans approved of his handling of the economy by an 88%-9% clip. Democrats (97%) and independent voters (70%) disapprove of Trump’s economic policies by large margins.
Support for the war in Iran also fell from April, with 38% of voters expressing approval. That compares to 40% last month.
Gas prices have also become a more pressing issue with voters. Asked how easy it was for them to afford gas, half of voters said it was either very easy (19%) or somewhat easy (31%). That compares to 28% saying it was somewhat difficult and 17% saying very difficult. The university last polled on gas prices in December, when 65% said it was either very or somewhat easy and 29% said it was somewhat or very difficult.
Poll respondents, by a 72% – 27% margin, assigned some or most of the blame to Trump.
“What was promised to be temporary pain to fill up seems to hurt more as time passes,” Malloy said.
On control of Congress, half of voters would want Democrats in control if the election were held today, while 38% want Republicans in charge and 11% offered no opinion. Democrats in Congress have a 20% approval rating, which is slightly higher than the 18% approval the party received in December. Democrats’ rating among Democrats sits at 40%, according to the poll.
Overall, 50% of voters — and 93% of Democrats — say Democrats should do more to stand up to Trump, and 42% say they should work with him more.
“Democrats to the legislators they elected: you may be polling as the party of choice to rule the House, but it’s time to take off the gloves and take the president to task,” Malloy said.
Republicans in Congress have a 27% approval rating, and 65% among Republicans. That is a decline since December, when the party had a 35% approval rating. A majority of voters (56%) also thought Republicans should stand up to Trump more, although among Republicans 80% thought the party should support him more, 13% said they should stand up to him more.
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Donald Eng is an award-winning local news veteran. He has covered multiple communities for various news organizations since 1995.
In his spare time he is a recovering cheer dad and a New York Mets, red wine, and adult rec tennis enthusiast.
