A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that Donald Trump remains an extraordinarily polarizing president, with a majority of the public “strongly” disapproving of him. According to the poll, 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump while 36 approve. But what is more striking is the measure of intensity, which show that those who dislike Trump do so with a passion. Fifty-three percent “strongly disapprove” of Trump while only 24 percent “strongly approve” of him.
Aside from the topline approval/disapproval results, the poll also shows the public is behind the Mueller investigation and wary of the president’s attempts to shut it down.
“But 63 percent of Americans support Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, with 52 percent saying they support it strongly; 29 percent oppose the probe,” The Washington Post reports.
The president’s efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the investigation and build sympathy for his convicted former campaign chair Paul Manafort have made little head way. “Trump has complained that Manafort was treated unfairly by Mueller’s prosecutors, and after a jury convicted Manafort earlier this month the president tweeted that he felt ‘very badly’ for him,” the newspaper notes. “But 67 percent of Americans think Mueller’s case against Manafort was justified, while 17 percent say it was unjustified, according to the poll.”
Trump is most unpopular with African-Americans, where he is at a minuscule 3 percent approval. He is most popular among white men with no college degree, but even with that group he has slipped from a career high of 70 percent to 55 percent.