Americans Give Trump Higher Grades on Economy Than Overall
December 10 2017 - 5:15PM
Dow Jones News
By Eli Stokols
Although President Donald Trump's overall approval ratings have
hit record lows, he is getting significantly higher marks in one
important area: his handling of the economy.
With the U.S. unemployment rate holding at a 17-year low, hiring
strong and the stock market hitting regular records, Mr. Trump is
getting stronger reviews from the public on the economy, with 42%
approving and 37% disapproving, according to the most recent Wall
Street Journal/NBC News survey, conducted in late October.
That stands in stark contrast to his overall approval rating,
which dropped last week to 32%, the lowest point of his 11-month
presidency, according to a Pew Research Center poll. His
disapproval rating of 68% in the same survey was also a new
high.
The WSJ poll showed the president with a 38% approval rating,
his lowest to date in this poll, while 58% disapproved of his
overall performance.
A Gallup survey from November showed the president's approval
rating for his handling of the economy at 45%, eight points ahead
of his overall approval number, which sagged to 37%.
"He's a political contortionist in that he has high economic
numbers and very low personal approval ratings. That's almost
impossible to do," said Peter Hart, a veteran Democratic
pollster.
On Friday, the White House celebrated the December jobs report
that showed the economy gaining 228,000 jobs in November.
"President Trump's bold economic vision continues to pay off,"
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a
statement that also referenced an increase in manufacturing jobs
since the president took office. "As we continue to unleash the
American economy from unnecessary regulation and taxes, we look
forward to seeing more reports like this, showing a healthy and
thriving jobs market for the American people."
The president expects to sign a final version of the GOP's $1.4
trillion tax overhaul before the end of the year. White House
political director Bill Stepien, who didn't respond to a request to
comment, has expressed confidence in the past that strong economic
numbers, especially in the states Mr. Trump won in the 2016
election, will be enough to help him overcome other political
liabilities.
"The issues that drove the 2016 election -- change Washington
and fix the economy -- continue to break President Trump's way.
Today's strong economy is a bulwark for the party in power as it
faces the electorate next year in congressional elections," said
Bill McInturff of the Republican polling firm Public Opinion
Strategies. Mr. McInturff directs the Journal/NBC News poll with
Democrat Fred Yang.
Mr. Hart isn't so sure. He pointed to a recent focus group he
conducted with North Carolina voters. He said they were less
willing to forgive Mr. Trump's sometimes controversial behavior
amidst a strong economy than they were with President Bill Clinton
two decades earlier.
"During the Clinton impeachment, people said, 'Look, the economy
is doing fine.' They weren't in a mood to pursue impeachment," Mr.
Hart said. "What's different now is the country is looking for an
equilibrium and the president keeps the country constantly on edge.
There's never enough of a lull for voters to get their breath and
say, 'I'm comfortable.' And that's why Trump doesn't get the full
political benefit of the economic growth."
Some administration allies have been trying to impress upon the
president and his communications team that he would be in a
stronger political position if he created fewer distractions with
his tweets, according to people familiar with those
conversations.
Write to Eli Stokols at eli.stokols@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 10, 2017 17:00 ET (22:00 GMT)
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