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Trump’s job approval rating dives six points in last month during coronavirus

A Gallup survey shows 43 per cent of Americans approve of the president 

Danielle Zoellner
Thursday 16 April 2020 17:54 EDT
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Donald Trump shows video praising his own response to coronavirus pandemic

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President Donald Trump's approval rating has taken a dive in the month of April by six points, as more Americans express their disapproval over his coronavirus response in recent weeks.

A new Gallup survey released on Thursday reported the president's approval dropped from 49 per cent to 43 per cent. According to the survey, 54 per cent of Americans disapprove of Trump's performance.

The president's approval rating slipped those six points following a 24 March Gallup survey, which found 49 per cent of Americans approved of Mr Trump and tied his personal best.

"The six-point decline in the president's approval rating is the sharpest drop Gallup has recorded for the Trump presidency so far," the survey explained in its report. It added this was not Mr Trump's lowest approval rating, as his average with Gallup was 40 per cent approval.

A mid-March boost in the polls for the president came after the federal government started its coronavirus response, including enacting social distancing measures for the public.

Mr Trump's initial boost during the coronavirus outbreak has not lasted, though, as the president has continued to appear daily during White House press briefings to address measures made to curb the pandemic.

The current health and economic crisis has been one of the hardest situations Mr Trump has faced during his presidency, and it could impact his bid for re-election in November if the economy doesn't rebound.

The United States has the most confirmed cases globally with more than 653,000 infections and 30,998 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Gallup found Mr Trump's support among Democrats dropped six points, with just 7 per cent approving of his job. Among independents, approval dropped from 43 per cent to 39 per cent. His approval with Republicans was at 93 per cent, a number that has remained relatively stable throughout his presidency.

In comparison, Congress' approval rating rose during the same time period to 30 per cent. The last time Congress had an approval that high was in 2009.

State governors have also seen a boost in their approval among residents as they work on policies to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

FiveThirtyEight compiled a list of 15 state governors and how their approval ratings compared before and during the virus.

All of the state governors saw a double-digit increase in approval except for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican. He went from 58 per cent approval to 51 per cent.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine saw the largest increase in their approval since the start of the pandemic, with them boasting 81, 79, and 80 per cent approval respectively among their residents.

Gallup's recent survey of the president's approval was conducted from 1 April to 14 April, with 1,017 American adults providing answers. The poll has a 4 per cent margin of error.

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