
Thanks to a boost from the U.S. economy and his State of the Union speech, President Donald Trump gets his best overall approval rating in seven months, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today.
His approval numbers are still in negative territory — 40 percent of voters approve of the job he is doing while 55 percent disapprove — but they seem to be on the upswing for now.
For the first time in a year, voters say 48-to-41 percent that President Trump is more responsible for the state of the economy than former President Barack Obama.
American voters approve 51-to-43 percent of the way Trump is handling the economy, his highest score on this issue since he was inaugurated.
A total of 75 percent of American voters say their financial situation is “excellent” or “good.”
In a survey of 1,333 registered American voters — conducted between February 2 and February 5 — a total of 70 percent of American voters say the U.S. economy is “excellent” or “good,” the highest rating since Quinnipiac University first asked this question in 2001 and up from 66 percent “excellent” or “good” January 10.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
“The post State of the Union bump kicks in. And an ‘attaboy on the economy doubles the pleasure for President Donald Trump,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “He’s at 40 percent in his approval rating for the first time in more than seven months, but he’s still nowhere near that magic 50 percent mark.
“Americans are feeling good about their personal finances,” Malloy said, “but we’ll have to see whether the Wall Street plunge takes a toll on the guy in charge.”
Meanwhile, American voters are giving Trump negative grades for his handling of other key issues:
- 37 percent approve of his foreign policy while 57 percent disapprove;
- 32 percent approve of his handling of classified information while 58 percent disapprove;
- 39 percent approve of his immigration policies while 58 percent disapprove;
- 45 percent approve of his handling of taxes, while 47 percent disapprove.
Trump is doing more to divide the country than to unite the country, voters say by a margin of 60-to-35 percent.
Voters are divided on whether the president is racist, as 49 percent say he is and 46 percent say he is not. There are wide party, gender and racial gaps evident in the way voters answered this poll question.
For example, Republicans say 85-to-10 percent that Trump is not racist while Democrats say he is by a margin of 84-to-13 percent. Independent voters are divided 47-to-45 percent.
Men say 55-to-40 percent that Trump is not racist, while women say he is 56-to-37 percent.
White voters say 51-to-45 percent that Trump is not racist, but black voters say 74-to-12 percent that he is. Hispanic voters are divided 49-to-49 percent.
“It’s a troubling toss up on whether Americans consider President Trump racist and he is deep in negative territory on his treatment of immigration, foreign policy and the handling of classified information,” Malloy said.