Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Shutdown Tanks Trump Approval to Record Low

During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history in December and January, President Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to its lowest point since he took office, according to a new poll released Thursday.

(CN) – During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history in December and January, President Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to its lowest point since he took office, according to a new poll released Thursday.

Over 55 percent of those polled in the Morning Consult’s report said they disapproved of Trump, a new record. That sentiment was shared across 27 states, while his net approval – the share of those who approve of the president minus the share who disapprove – was underwater in 32 states.

Just 12 states have a majority of voters who supported Trump, all traditionally red states the president handily won in 2016. But the poll, which consists of 154,104 surveys conducted over the month of January, shows Trump’s net approval declined in 43 states and increased in just four: Idaho, Louisiana, Georgia and New Mexico.

The 35-day shutdown began last December over the Trump administration’s insistence that Congress earmark $5.7 billion to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Ultimately the shutdown led to 380,000 federal workers being furloughed and another 420,000 workers working without pay.

Trump says it could happen all over again when funding for the government runs out next week.

In a separate poll by CNN, a majority of respondents want Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election released in a full report to the public after the investigation is done.

Eighty-seven percent of those polled said the results of the Mueller investigation should be released to the public, while 9 percent believe it should remain under wraps. Overall support for a public report has not changed much since this past May when CNN asked the same question, but support among Republicans has gone up from 72 percent to 80 percent according to Thursday’s poll.

Overall, 56 percent of those polled said they disapprove of the way Trump has handled the Russian investigation and 58 percent think the investigation itself is a serious matter that should be fully investigated. About half of those polled think the Trump 2016 campaign colluded with the Russian government to help get him elected, according to the 1,011 adults interviewed by telephone nationwide.

At the recent State of the Union Address, Trump did not specifically call out Mueller or the Russia investigation but said, “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way."

CNN’s poll was conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 2 by Social Science Research Solutions.

Categories / Politics

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...