USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll: Despite economic optimism, Americans worry about Trump and the future
WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly disagree with President Trump on just about everything from his military threats to North Korea to his combative stance toward NFL players who won’t stand for the National Anthem.
But a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll also finds an unusual disconnect: Americans are increasingly optimistic about the nation’s economy.
“He’s just really intent on keeping the nation divided,” says William Reed, 52, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton last year and was among those polled. “No empathy; no compassion; just all about him and tweeting.”
Trump’s defenders counter that he has faced tough problems and unrelenting opposition from his political foes. “It’s not a good climate out there, and he’s navigating through it,” John Sakach, 80, the owner of a construction-supply business in suburban Chicago, said in a follow-up interview.Â
For the first time during Trump’s presidency, a majority of Americans, 53%, say in the USA TODAY poll that the economy is in a recovery. That typically would lift views that the nation is headed in the right direction. But this time, nearly two-thirds, or 64%, also say the country is on the wrong track, up 21 percentage points since the beginning of the year and the highest of his tenure.Â
As Trump approaches the one-year anniversary of his election next month, his underwater approval ratings and the public’s anxiety hold perils for his presidency. They embolden his critics and make it harder for him to push legislative proposals such as a tax bill through Congress.
Historically, sagging presidential approval ratings also signal trouble for the party in power in midterm elections.
Those surveyed say, by 57%-33%, that they want to elect a Congress in 2018 that mostly stands up to Trump, not one that mostly cooperates with him. And that includes almost one in five Republicans, as well as the predictable partisan divide, with nine of 10 Democrats calling for an opposition Congress. Independents by 2-1 also hold that view.
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Diplomacy or military action?
When it comes to North Korea, Americans are more likely to agree with the embattled secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, than with his boss.Â
By 3-1, 61%-20%, Americans say the United States should pursue diplomacy to try to curtail North Korea’s nuclear program, not undertake military action. By an even wider margin, 69%-15%, they say the U.S. should launch military strikes only in response to a North Korea attack, not as a pre-emptive step.
“There’s a place for military, absolutely, but when dealing with nuclear weapons, you have to try diplomacy first,” says Annie Davis, 41, of Greenville, S.C., the manager of a veterinary clinic who was among those polled. “There are civilians on both sides.”
On Saturday, in Beijing, Tillerson said the United States had “made it clear that we hope to resolve this through talks,” saying his immediate goal was “to calm things down” with North Korea.
That brought an extraordinary public rebuke from Trump. “I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump tweeted on Sunday, a reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”
Those surveyed disapprove of the president’s handling of North Korea by 56%-34%.
That said, both Trump supporters and critics agree that the president inherited a complicated and dangerous standoff with Pyongyang, with no easy path ahead. “This guy, Kim, is a very unstable man and has no respect for the nuclear issue, which goes all the way back to when Bill Clinton was in office,” says Doug Johnson, 54, of Hannibal, Mo. “If you could take care of that with diplomacy, I would be 100% for that, but I don’t think that’s the case here.”
The poll of 1,000 registered voters, taken by landline and cellphone from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.Â
Obamacare redux
Americans hold just about everybody in politics in low esteem, not to mention the news media.
Congress gets a whopping unfavorable rating of 64%-17%. The Democratic Party is viewed unfavorably by double digits, 48%-37%. The GOP fares worse, 62%-23%. Vice President Pence’s unfavorable rating is better than Trump’s (57%-34%), but it’s still in negative territory, at 44%-36%.Â
The news media is viewed unfavorably by 54%-31%, worse than the already dismal 50%-37% unfavorable rating in the first poll of the year.Â
What’s getting more popular? The Affordable Care Act.
Six in 10 Americans, 59%, now say Congress should either leave Obamacare alone, or fix the problems with the program but leave its framework intact. That’s up 6 points since June, and in the wake of the failure last month of Senate Republicans to win approval of alternative programs — this after seven years of campaign promises to “repeal and replace” it.
Now 11% say Congress should repeal the Affordable Care Act even if a replacement isn’t ready; another 26% say a repeal should be passed but only when a replacement is ready to go.
Trust in Trump to protect the interests of Americans and their families on health care has fallen, to 15%. Only 10% say they trust congressional Republicans most; 43% trust congressional Democrats.Â
Those surveyed express dismay and bewilderment that legislators haven’t been able to work together.
“I want them speaking to each other, honestly and wholeheartedly working for a compromise,” says Meg Ashworth, 57, a homemaker from Lebanon, Ohio.
“If they don’t fix it,” says Willie Woods, 55, the owner of a trucking firm in Houston. “then we’ll be in the same boat this year and the next year.”
Good feeling gone
Gone is the good feeling after the president’s address to a joint session of Congress early in the year. Just after that, by 46%-43%, Americans were inclined to believe things were headed in the right direction. Now, by a yawning 40 percentage points, 64%-24%, they say things are on the wrong track.
That include a third of Republicans.
“He’s not doing his job the way he’s supposed to do,” worries Robert Pounds, 58, of Aiken, S.C., who voted for Trump last year. “I’d like to see him get health care figured out. I’d like him to stand up and get more jobs in America, like he said he would. I know he’s a rich fellow, but he needs to start helping America.”
Trump gets low marks even for his Twitter-fueled blasts at NFL players who have been dropping to one knee during the National Anthem before games. Two-thirds of those surveyed say the president’s call for NFL owners to fire the protesting players and for fans to boycott their games is inappropriate.Â
The president’s approval rating is 38%, the lowest of the year in the USA TODAY poll. His disapproval rating is 56%, the highest of the year. By 35%-13%, those who “strongly disapprove” of him outnumber those who “strongly approve.”
That means for nearly half of the country, feelings are inflamed for or against the president.
“A very to-the-point person” who has “held people accountable who have not been held accountable before,” Johnson says approvingly.
Woods couldn’t disagree more. “Getting worse and worse by the minute,” he laments.
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