Nearing 100-Day Mark, Trump Approval Remains Low

The first 100 days of the Trump administration will be marked on April 29th, which is 100 days since the inauguration back on January 20th. The past three months have seen both successes and failures for the newly minted president, and the man himself is already getting ahead of the narrative, blaming the media for any negative portrayal of his accomplishments since taking the Oath.

Report from The Hill:

President Trump took aim at the media early Friday morning, accusing journalists and news outlets of belittling and disparaging his early accomplishments in the White House.

Trump is set to hit the critical 100-day mark in his presidency on April 29, a week from Saturday. Those early days are typically considered the first standard checkpoint for a presidential administration and its ability to govern.

With little legislative achievement to speak of, Trump has focused on executive actions to roll back Obama-era regulations and climate policy.

The biggest success of Trump’s young presidency, alluded to in his tweet, has been the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump picked to replace the late Antonin Scalia.

But some of the president’s highest-profile campaign promises have floundered in his first months in office.

Two controversial executive orders barring citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., for example, were blocked by federal judges amid concerns that the orders amounted to a discriminatory ban on a religious group.

And a GOP measure to repeal and replace ObamaCare ultimately failed after House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and the White House pulled it amid dwindling support from Republican lawmakers.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/855373184861962240

It will be a battle of dueling narratives, as is typical. Most media outlets will focus on difficulties surrounding things like the “Muslim ban” and the failure, up to this point, to accomplish anything on the ObamaCare repeal. Trump will focus on things like getting Neil Gorsuch confirmed to the Supreme Court, and stepping up the fight against ISIS and Islamic terrorism around the world.

Another item that will be examined closely are his poll numbers for the first 100 days. This report also from The Hill:

President Trump’s average approval rating is the lowest since Gallup began presidential approval surveys in 1953, the polling firm said Thursday.

Trump’s approval rating has been as low as 39 percent since January, but averaged out at 41 percent. According to Gallup, the historical average approval of presidents is 61 percent.

The previous president to hold Gallup’s lowest approval rating in their first quarter was former President Bill Clinton, who had a 55 percent approval rating.

By comparison, former President Obama had a 63 percent average approval rating over his first three months in office, while former President George W. Bush had 57 percent and former President Ronald Reagan came in at 62 percent.

The former president with the highest average approval rating over their first quarter was John F. Kennedy, who had a 71 percent approval rating.

The latest poll was conducted from Jan. 20 to April 19 on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 45,111 adults.

By the traditional assessment of approval ratings, when compared historically, Trump is not getting high marks from the public so far. However, his shift to foreign policy may be helping him make up for the lack of accomplishments on his domestic agenda. The Washington Times reports:

A new poll from Marist College shows a significant drop in those who disapprove of President Trump’s foreign policy decisions.

Forty-nine percent of voters disapprove of Mr. Trump’s handling of foreign policy, a drop from 56 percent in February. His approval rating in this area, however, has not seen much increase going from 37 percent to 40 percent.

The poll was taken after Mr. Trump ordered military airstrikes to Syria last week.

Americans like some assertiveness in foreign policy, and Trump has been trying to deliver on that with his strike in Syria and the bombing of ISIS in Afghanistan. At some point, Trump will get some domestic legislative victories, which could begin to shift these numbers, especially if the economy improves this year and Trump takes credit for it, which you know he will.