Trump’s approval rating drops; Reuters/IPSOS poll finds many people are wary of their power
Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s public approval rate has dropped to its lowest level since returning to the White House as Americans show signs of alertness about efforts to expand their power.
About 42% of respondents approved Trump’s approval as president, down from 43% of Reuters/IPSOS polls three weeks ago, 47% within a few hours after taking office on January 20.
The beginning of Trump’s tenure shocked his political rivals as he signed dozens of executive orders that expanded his influence on government departments and private institutions such as universities and law firms.
While Trump’s approval rating is still higher than the ratings during most Democratic presidency, the results of the Reuters/ipsos poll show that many Americans are uncomfortable with his actions with colleges he believes are too free to view themselves as a Kennedy Center, a major theater and cultural institution, major theater and cultural institution in Washington State.
Of the 4,306 respondents, about 83% said that the U.S. president must comply with federal court rulings even if he doesn’t. Trump administration officials may face criminal contempt charges for violating federal judges’ orders to stop expelling Venezuelan gang members, who have no chance to challenge their removal.
57% (including one-third of Republicans) disagree: “If the president does not agree with how colleges work, the U.S. president can withhold funds from colleges.”
Trump believes that universities have failed to fight anti-Semitism on campus and has frozen a large amount of federal funding for U.S. college budgets, including more than $2 billion in Harvard.
Similar respondents (66%) said they did not believe the president should control major cultural institutions such as national museums and theaters. Trump ordered the Smithsonian institution last month, a vast museum and research complex, the premier exhibition space for American history and culture to eliminate “inappropriate” ideology.
On a range of issues, from inflation and immigration to taxation and the rule of law, Reuters/IPSOS polls show that the number of Americans opposing Trump’s performance exceeds those approved for every issue in the poll. In terms of immigration, his strongest support area, with 45% of respondents approving Trump’s performance, but 46% disapproved.
The margin of error in the poll is about 2 percentage points.
About 59% of respondents, including one-third of Republicans, said the United States has lost credibility on the global stage.
Three-quarters of respondents said Trump should not run for the third term in office – a path he said he wanted to pursue, even though the U.S. Constitution prohibited him from doing so. Most Republican respondents (53%) said Trump should not seek a third term.
(Reported by Jason Lange; Editors by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
