A new poll that started surveying voters just hours before the partial government shutdown began put President Trump’s popularity at its lowest point in more than a year.
The Morning Consult poll revealed, overall, 39 percent of registered voters approved of the president’s job performance, his lowest approval rating since August 2017. That’s in sharp contrast with Republicans’ opinions, as he holds an 80 percent approval rating among registered voters in his own party.
Many of the 1,992 registered voters surveyed in the online poll were not optimistic, however, that the president would win the funding for his signature border wall, debate over which has the president and Congress in a stalemate that led to the partial government shutdown that started Dec. 22. More than half of Republicans — 54 percent — and 64 percent of all voters said it was unlikely Congress will approve funding for the wall. People who voted for Trump, however, were even less sure the president will win the funding he wants: Only 38 percent said it was likely Trump would get the full funding for the wall.
Trump has asked for more than $5 billion for border security measures, including a physical barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border. The House approved a spending bill last week that included the funds, but the measure did not have the votes to pass in the Senate. The Senate next meets Thursday.
The poll was conducted from Dec. 21-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.
