A new poll released Wednesday found the majority of Republican voters favor President Trump over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell following last week’s showdown between the two over the GOP’s stalled agenda.
Sixty percent of voters polled believe Trump is more in touch with them, compared to 16 percent who picked the Kentucky senator, according to the Morning Consult/Politico survey taken Aug. 10-14.
Fifty-seven percent of GOP voters say Trump is more trustworthy than McConnell, who was backed by only 14 percent.
Republicans also believe Trump, who spent decades in business compared to McConnell’s decades in Congress, is more knowledgeable on policy issues than McConnell, 41 percent to 34 percent, respectively.
Trump criticized McConnell earlier this month for not passing healthcare reform in the upper chamber. McConnell responded that Trump had “excessive expectations” for legislators.
Half of GOP voters say Trump’s attacking McConnell on Twitter was appropriate and one-third disagree.
But McConnell’s approval rate has taken a hit since then. His approval rating has dropped from 39 percent on July 29 to 33 percent today. His disapproval rate jumped from 29 percent to 34 percent.
About 60 percent of conservative voters blame Congress, not Trump, for failing to pass the healthcare bill.
The online poll was conducted among 1,997 registered voters and had a 2 percentage point margin of error.
