One year after Donald Trump’s election, views of the nation’s economy are the best they’ve been since before the September 11, 2001 attacks, but Americans’ confidence in their President to handle just about everything else has fallen, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Only 40% think President Trump is doing a good job keeping candidate Trump’s promises, down from 48% in April, and an equal 40% now say he can bring the kind of change the country needs, down from 49% shortly after his election.
The shift since November 2016 on whether Trump can bring change has come mostly among independents and Republicans. Among Republicans, the percentage saying Trump can bring needed change is down 10 points since November 2016, while it’s off nine points among independents. Among Democrats, there’s been just a three-point shift, not a statistically significant movement.
Republicans haven’t shifted on whether Trump is keeping his promises — 86% said he was doing a good job on that in April, 86% say so today — but on other matters, their impressions of Trump have worsened significantly.
Trump has lost ground on being able to unite the country, and on empathy. Overall, 30% say they think the President will unite the country rather than divide it, down 13 points since last November, and 38% say he cares about “people like you,” also down significantly from a year ago.
Here too, the shifts are larger among Republicans. Last year, 81% of Republicans thought Trump would unite the country, 91% that he cared about people like them. Now, those figures are 65% and 83%, respectively.
The poll was conducted as the President began his trip to Asia last week, his longest foreign trip since taking office. Looking overseas, most Americans doubt the President has the respect of leaders around the world, just a quarter (24%) say he does, down from 36% at the 100-day mark. Again, the shift comes largely among Republicans, 71% of whom said Trump had the respect of world leaders in April, 55% say so now.
Almost two-thirds (64%) overall say Trump’s statements and actions since taking office have made them less confident in his ability to serve as president. Last year, considering his statements and actions since Election Day, just 43% said they had lost confidence in President-elect Trump compared to candidate Trump. That shift comes across party lines. Republicans are 17 points more likely to say they’re losing confidence in Trump now, while independents are 24 points more likely and Democrats are 14 points more likely to say the same.
Fewer see the President as “honest and trustworthy” now than have at any point since before he launched his run for president in June 2015, 34% call him honest and trustworthy, 64% say he’s not. And only 30% trust most of what they hear in official communications from the White House.
All told, just a third think the President deserves re-election in 2020, 63% say he doesn’t deserve it. And a similar 64% say they aren’t proud to have Trump as President.
Trump won the presidency last year on the strength of voters seeking change. Among those voters who prioritized a candidate able to bring change, 82% backed Trump, per exit polls. But as impressions of Trump’s ability to bring that change and confidence in his leadership have waned, his approval rating has dipped to reflect an unimpressed America.
In findings released earlier this week, Trump’s overall approval rating stood at 36%, the worst of his presidency. His approval ratings for handling most top issues are also deeply net negative and stand below 40%. Two exceptions are the economy: 45% approve, 46% disapprove, and terrorism, 44% approve and 48% disapprove.
The economy is a bright spot in the poll, and one the President frequently touts. Almost seven in 10, 68% describe the economy as in good shape, up from 57% just before Trump’s inauguration and the highest share to do so since spring 2001. And 59% say they expect it to be in good shape a year from now, just slightly lower than the 63% who said so shortly after Trump’s election last year.
Trump’s personal favorability has dipped to 38%, the worst we’ve measured for him since he was elected. His vice president, Mike Pence, has also taken a favorability hit since Election Day 2016. Overall, 38% have a favorable view of Pence and 45% hold an unfavorable view — that’s his highest unfavorable number in CNN polling by a six-point margin.
The CNN oll was conducted by SSRS by telephone November 2 to 5 among a random national sample of 1,021 adults. The margin of sampling error for results among the full sample is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points; it is larger for subgroups.