Despite Negative Press, Trump Approval Numbers Are the Same as Before Putin Meeting
President Donald Trump appears to have weathered Monday’s Helsinki Summit controversy unscathed according to the most recent job approval numbers.
The Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll found Trump’s approval rating last Friday, before his one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stood at 46 percent.
As of Thursday, July 19, his approval number fell just one point to 45 percent, having registered at 46 percent on Wednesday, two days after the summit.
By way of comparison, on the same date during the second year of Barack Obama’s presidency he held a nearly identical 47 percent approval rating.
Trump received a torrent of criticism from members of the media, as well as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, for seeming to be as ready to accept Putin’s denial of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race as the U.S. intelligence community’s findings that it did.
Trump clarified on Tuesday that he has “full faith” in America’s intelligence agencies, including their findings concerning Russian attempts to influence the election.
“While Russia’s actions had no impact on the outcome of the election, let me be totally clear: I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place,” he added. “There was no collusion at all.”
Trump tweeted a video compilation on Thursday of him acknowledging on multiple occasions in the past that Russia had sought to meddle in the race.
“Trump recognized Russian Meddling MANY TIMES” pic.twitter.com/T8MERS93wI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2018
The president told reporters on Tuesday that he misspoke at the joint news conference in Helsinki when he stated that he did not see any reason why Russia “would” interfere in the U.S. election. Trump said he meant to say “wouldn’t.”
A majority of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the summit.
A CBS News poll published on Thursday found 55 percent disapproved, while 32 percent approved; however, the partisan divide was very present in the numbers.
Sixty-eight percent of Republicans approved of his performance, while 21 percent disapproved.
On the Democrat said, only eight percent approved and 83 percent disapproved.
In a pair of tweets on Thursday, the president argued the Putin summit was actually a “great success” and not to give credence to the “Fake News Media’s” coverage, whom he labeled “the real enemy of the people.”
The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media. I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear……..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2018
“I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed,” he added, listing stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear proliferation, cyber attacks, trade, Ukraine, Middle East peace, and North Korea among the topics.
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