Trump Poll Numbers Today: President's Foreign Policy Having Negative Effects?

Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has had his fair share of foreign policy controversies. Among the list, the president has refused to shake hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her White House visit, confounded world leaders with his apparent fondness of Russian President Vladimir Putin, insulted ally Australia by neglecting a refugee deal, and rankled Enrique Peña Nieto so much that the Mexican president canceled a January meeting.

Not only has Trump's behavior left diplomats and experts puzzled, he’s also irked American voters. In fact, more than half of Americans — 55 percent — believe that since taking office, Trump has damaged the U.S. role on the world stage, according to a poll released by McClatchy-Marist Monday morning. That figure rose from 52 percent in February.

Read: Are Trump And Putin Friends? What You Need To Know About US-Russia Relations Under New President

Viewpoints were split along party lines, as 83 percent of Democrats shared this belief, while only 17 percent of Republicans and 12 percent of Trump supporters did. Significantly, 59 percent of Independents also believed that Trump’s foreign policy had negative consequences.

“I’ve been all over the world,” Trump said when asked about what qualified him to be commander-in-chief when he was running for president in September. “I’ve dealt with foreign countries … I think the main thing is I have great judgment. I have good judgment. I know what’s going on. I’ve called so many of the shots.”

Read: Will Trump Resign? Most Americans Want POTUS To Step Down, Poll Finds

But only 36 percent of American voters believed he has made the U.S. stronger.

“The president has been creating conflicts in a lot of places, which are distracting from other things going on in the administration,” Andrew Nelson, a 34-year-old, independent radio news anchor from Atlanta, told pollsters.

One move that has set Trump apart from presidents past has been his friendliness with Russia and his praise of Putin, despite the fact that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia interfered with the U.S. elections by hacking into the Democratic National Committee’s emails.

In the poll, voters said they were uneasy with Trump and Putin’s relationship. About 48 percent they thought Trump’s relationship was a bad thing, while 39 percent thought the opposite. This, too, was split along party lines — 80 percent of Democrats shared this belief, while 11 percent of Republicans did. Only 8 percent of Trump supporters thought the world leaders’ relationship was a bad thing, and 47 percent of independents did.

The poll surveyed 1,062 adults over the phone from March 22 to March 27. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.