Trump entering White House with historically low approval ratings

PanARMENIAN.Net - Donald Trump starts his presidency Friday, January 20 with the lowest-ever ratings for an incoming president, but also with some signs of increasing optimism for the country, according to results from a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, NBC News reports.

A majority of Americans — 52 percent — say they disapprove of the way President-elect Trump has handled his transition and preparations for the presidency, versus just 44 percent who approve, which is down six points from only a month ago.

To put Trump's numbers into perspective, Barack Obama's approval rating was 71 percent before he took the oath of office in January 2009, and Bill Clinton's was 77 percent in December 1992.

In addition, just 38 percent of Americans have a positive view of Trump, while 48 percent have a negative one — making him the most unpopular incoming president in the history of the NBC/WSJ poll.

And just three-in-10 Americans have a high level of confidence that Trump has the right set of goals and priorities, as well as right set of personal characteristics, to be president.

"We find a nation that is seemingly as divided today as it was during the 2016 campaign with little change for a positive lift," says Democratic pollster Fred Yang of Hart Research Associates, who conducted this survey with Republican Bill McInturff and his firm Public Opinion Strategies.

"A majority of the American public starts the Donald Trump presidency in opposition," Yang adds.

Despite that opposition, however, a plurality of Americans — 43 percent — believe the United States will be better off five years from now, and the percentage of respondents who say the country is headed in the right direction has ticked up four points since last month to 37 percent.

Still, 52 percent of Americans think that the nation is on the wrong track, though that's down from the 60 percent-plus who said that during the 2016 general election.

What's more, the public supports many of Trump's individual policy goals - even if they don't support him personally.

"Americans believe that Obama fell short in standing up to big business, special interests, and changing business as usual in Washington. These are areas where Americans believe Trump could make a positive difference," says McInturff, the GOP pollster.

"Trump's ability to deliver on his promise of change and to strengthen the economy for working Americans are two potential pillars of a successful presidency," he adds.

But the public doesn't support other policy Trump goals. Just 34 percent think cutting business taxes is a priority this year; only 30 percent believe it's an immediate priority to deport undocumented immigrants; just 21 percent say it's a priority to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; and only 16 percent say it's a priority to pass legislation providing additional restrictions on abortion.

The NBC/WSJ poll also finds that Trump gets the highest marks on being firm and decisive (a combined 54 percent give him either a "4" or "5" here on a five-point scale), on being direct and straightforward in his communications (48 percent), on dealing with the economy (46 percent) and on changing business as usual in Washington (45 percent).

Trump received his worse marks for understanding average people (30 percent), uniting the country (27 percent), being easygoing and likable (27 percent), having high personal and ethical standards (26 percent) and having the right temperament (21 percent).