On Monday, President Trump made some gregarious claims on Twitter, which is no surprise but still notable because in light of his “200 day” mark. He was peeved at several news outlets, including NBC News, which reported that he’s “failed to unite the GOP.” Trump disagreed while claiming that his “base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling),” and he added a “24/7 #Fake News” dig for good measure. Well, Tuesday brings a CNN poll to crush his hopes, although he’ll likely call it fake as well.
The numbers are abysmal and signal an all-time low, which has prompted MSNBC’s Morning Joe crew to casually mull over whether Trump should be “on 24-hour suicide watch” — a gruesome thought if there ever was one. So, what’s the fuss all about? A paltry 38% approval, as compared the only other president (in this poll’s history) that had dipped below 50% at 200 days. That would be Bill Clinton, who fell to 44% in 1993.
Trump’s 38% represents a six-point drop from April, at which point Trump had hovered in the 44-45% range since February. In even worse news for the GOP, support is evaporating from within the party’s core:
Those numbers have soured in recent months, particularly among Trump’s core supporters. Among Republicans, strong approval has dropped from 73% in February to 59% now. Among whites who do not have college degrees, a core component of Trump’s base, just 35% strongly approve, down 12 points since February. At the same time, strong disapproval among Democrats has held steady around 80%.
There’s more revealing tidbits to be unearthed from the poll results, including how only 25% of Americans believe what they’re hearing from White House communications, which makes plenty of sense … considering how Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders regularly bends the truth, and the most recent comms director — the Mooch — only lasted 10 days before getting the boot. This waning level of confidence doesn’t bode well for the future Trump presidency, but if anyone is capable of a surprise return, it’s him.