The latest poll from Gallup shows Donald Trump to be impervious to the three-ring impeachment circus performing daily in Washington and being covered by a supportive media. As Gallup reported on Wednesday, “Despite days of focus by national and international news media on the impeachment proceedings currently underway in the House of Representatives, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating remains statistically similar to where it has been for weeks. [Our] latest poll failed to show a noticeable impact of the impeachment hearings in Congress on [his] presidential approval.”
A closer look reveals a measurable improvement in his approval rating, with those approving jumping by two points since Gallup’s last poll, and those disapproving falling three points. That’s a swing of five full percentage points in a month.
What Gallup measured but didn’t report was the remarkable turn of independents over the last month in the face of the unrelenting drumbeat of “impeach impeach impeach” from Adam Schiff’s “impeachment committee”: Trump’s job approval rating among independents has jumped four percentage points since early October.
When it comes to the economy, Gallup noted that “the 57% approving of Trump’s handling of the economy is … his best as president.” That’s an improvement of seven points since May and four points since August.
And support by his base remains steadfast, said Gallup. Ninety percent of Republicans approve of his performance, up four percent since early October. Said Gallup: “Despite the heavy focus on the impeachment process and the underlying claims being brought forth by members of Congress, Republicans overall seem unmoved in their assessments of Trump’s job performance.”
When it comes to confidence in the economy, in a separate poll Gallup reported that its latest reading of its Economic Confidence Index is “the best reading since July.” It’s also just off the record high set a year ago. Said Gallup: “Currently, 55% of Americans rate economic conditions as either “excellent” or “good” … [the index] has increased by 12 points since September.” It added that “the 66% of Republicans currently satisfied is higher than Gallup has measured at any point this year.”
Another poll, taken in the swing state of Wisconsin by Marquette University’s Law School and also reported on Wednesday, shows that support for impeachment has declined while Trump has gained a statistically significant advantage over each of the four top Democrat contenders in a face-to-face contest. In October, 44 percent of those polled thought the president ought to be impeached, but a month later that dropped to 40 percent.
In head-to-head matchups, Trump now leads Biden by three points (in August Biden led Trump by nine points). The president now leads Sanders by three points and Warren by five points. Trump buries Buttigieg by eight points. Said poll director Charles Franklin, “Republicans have moved 2 or 3 or 4 points in the president’s direction, whether it’s on voter preference or support for him over impeachment.” On the other hand, “Democrats have become just a little bit — again 2, 3, 4 points — less opposed to the president, whether it’s on impeachment or on voter [preference].”
The Democrats are finding that their latest efforts to depose the president are failing, whether it be support for impeachment or for their favorite candidates. It’s reasonable to assume that the more the impeachment circus continues, the greater will be voter disenchantment with the whole enterprise.
Photo: AP Images
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, writing primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
