Trump Approval Rating Didn't Improve After RNC, 63% Still 'Disapprove' Of Coronavirus Response

The Aug. 24-27 Republican National Convention starring President Donald Trump did nothing to greatly improve his approval rating among the American electorate, a new poll shows.

A poll from ABC News/Ipsos taken Aug. 28-29 reveals that despite the RNC's fire and fury message touting law and order, Trump's favorability rating among voters slid one percentage point to 31% from the previous Aug. 21-22 poll. His unfavorability rating stood at 59% from the previous 60%.

The good news for Trump is the DNC did little to move the needle for Democratic challenger Joe Biden, whose favorability rating inched upwards to 46% from 45%. Biden's unfavorability rating remained unchanged at 40%.

Trump's favorability has been on the decline for most of August in the ABC News/Ipsos polls. It stood at 35% in the Aug. 11-12 survey. Biden's favorability rating was only 40% in the same poll, representing a six-point jump for the former vice president.

Trump's favorability is being weighted down by voters' stubbornly negative view concerning his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. His disapproval in the latest poll stood at 63% compared to an only 35% approval.

This view has remained unchanged in ABC News/Ipsos polls extending back to May. In the six polls taken since May 20-21, Trump's disapproval rating in response to COVID-19 has stood at 60% or more in five of these surveys. Trump's highest disapproval was 67% while the lowest was 58%.

In contrast, Trump's approval rating fell below 40% in all but one poll. His lowest was 33% while his highest was 41%.

The lingering voter disapproval of Trump might also have been due to the bad reviews the RNC received from Americans. The poll shows that among all Americans, responses to the RNC are more negative than the DNC.

One in three Americans (37%) approve of what the Republicans said and did at their convention compared to 59% who disapprove. As for the DNC, 53% approved of the Democrats’ message.

Of the poll respondents, 62% said the Republicans spent too much time condemning the Democrats. On the other hand, 51% of Americans said Democrats spent too much time criticizing Republicans at their convention.