Image courtesy of Meditation Technique's Facebook page
As Donald Trump is about to take the oath of office and become the highest elected official in the land, his approval ratings (or rather, lack thereof) are raising some eyebrows.
This man (and yes, I am taking advantage of calling him still only the President-elect, and not just yet the President, for as many hours as that is still possible) has not even taken that oath of office, and yet already, his approval ratings are lower than any other incoming president since these polls began to be recorded in the 1990's.
Bill Clinton had 68 percent approval ratings as he was about to take office back in 1992. George W. Bush had 61 percent favorable approval, despite a controversial election, back in 2000. And in 2008, Barack Obama had a rather staggering 83 percent approval rating!
Donald Trump?
He is setting the bar quite low, with a 37 percent approval rating, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
Why do so many Americans disapprove of our President-elect?
According to the same poll, here are some of the reasons that Americans have not liked how this man has handled himself since winning the election in November (although let's remember that he lost the popular vote by around 3 million):
- 53 percent do not believe that Trump tells the truth.
- 52 percent do not believe he cares about the average American people.
- 62 percent do not believe he is level-headed
- only 34 percent believe that Trump will be a better president than Obama was.
Apparently, Americans are now waking up to the fact that this man is ill-suited to hold the highest office in the land. Typically, this revelation comes much too late. Predictable, but much, much too late.
Why do Americans always seem to catch on only well after they can do something about it in the polls?
Right now, the worst president in American history was George W. Bush. He took the reins of a respected world superpower, and under his watch, we had the biggest domestic security failure in American history, started an illegal and immoral war against the wishes of the entire world, while we were fighting another war simultaneously, and irreparably hurt our reputation the world over as a result, and wasted an estimated $6 trillion on those two wars as a result. Also during Bush's tutelage, the entire world saw his failed response to Hurricane Katrina, economic disparity grew, and there were numerous corporate scandals, from Enron to Blackwater to Halliburton and, finally, to the corporate practices and big CEO payoffs that all helped lead to the economic disaster that almost saw this country fall into another Great Depression. Instead, we had the so-called Great Recession.
Well done, George! People seem to have forgotten just how bad it was, and just how poorly he left the country off when he finally left office.
Trump's response?
According to reliable sources, he responded by saying, "Hold my beer and watch this!"
Donald Trump Enters Office With Dismal Approval Ratings by Tod Perry, January 13, 2017:
I don't know if you ever check the comments section for Yahoo articles regarding politics and current events, but the ready-made answer Trumpets have is this: pollsters almost unanimously predicted a landslide victory for Hillary Clinton, which obviously didn't happen, so why should we trust them now? However, I remain cautiously optimistic that before long his approval ratings will plummet to such a degree that even his most ardent supporters will find it exceedingly difficult to put a positive spin on it. Time will tell.
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ReplyDeleteYes, I am familiar with their dismissal of polls. Also, let's face it, they were correct on that score. Still, polls should indicate how people feel about him and the job that he's doing. I am pretty sure many of his voters will have buyers remorse. Also, Hillary never really had an enormous or insurmountable lead. Not to belabor the point, but that was something that Bernie Sanders and his supporters kept trying to remind Hillary or Bust people prior to her nomination time and time again. Because those same polls did indeed get one thing right: a vast majority of Americans viewed her very unfavorably, and also felt that she was not trustworthy. Indeed, I suspect that was why she lost the election, and why we have to deal with the morning after Trump's inauguration on this day.
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