Trump Approval Ratings: Russia Scandal And Paris Agreement Hurting Public Opinion Of President

In his decision Thursday to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, President Donald Trump strengthened support with his core base. The contentious move, however, represents yet another setback for Trump's sagging approval ratings, as seven of 10 Americans were in support of the agreement.

Trump’s approval and favorability are already historically low at this point in his presidency. When he was elected, Trump's approval ratings hovered around 40 to 45 percent but has recently been dipping below 40 percent following increased media scrutiny and the passing of the unpopular American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives.

Trump's press is also unlikely to be positive in the near future. The latest news from the investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia has escalated with the announcement of a hearing Thursday by former CIA Director James Comey. This comes in conjunction with the trickle of information from the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has reportedly looked into the business handlings of Trump's son-in-law and aide Jared Kushner, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

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Three tracking polls that were taken in the days before the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: Rasmussen, Gallup, and Survey Monkey. All three gave similar results showing the president’s disapproval marks outweighing his approval by double digits.

In the Rasmussen Report, a historically right-leaning tracking poll, the president got his highest approval rating, 44 percent between May 30 and June 1. In the FiveThirtyEight tracking aggregator which weighs the polls by historic leanings, they adjusted that percentage down to 39 percent. By contrast, the approval tracker gave him a 56 percent disapproval rating.

In the Gallup Poll taken during the same time period, a similar result was shown, with Trump receiving 39 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval rating - adjusted to 40 percent approval and 54 percent disapproval rating. The SurveyMonkey poll taken between May 26 and June 1 showed 41 percent approval and 57 percent disapproval adjusted to 39 percent approval and 56 percent.

The FiveThirtyEight aggregator averages 39.1 percent approval and 54.9 disapproval, with the trend showing a shrinking base of support and more and more Republicans disapproving of the president after a couple of weeks of negative press.

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The withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement has similar partisan approval, with one poll showing about 62 Americans preferring to stay in the agreement. Only about 56 percent of Republicans supporting the president’s decision to leave, with an overwhelming majority of Democrats (87 percent) and Independents (61 percent) wanting to stay in the agreement, according to a survey taken by Politico and Harvard’s School of Public Health.

On RealClearPolitics poll aggregator for "Trump's Favorability" and "Direction of the Country," there's been a similar backlash and gutting of support. His favorability is at 40.2 percent and his unfavorability is at 54.2 percent. An average of only 34.3 percent of Americans think the country is going in the right direction, while 57.8 percent think the country is going in the wrong direct.