That Sky Continues to Fall

That single Monmouth poll from a few weeks ago sure does mean that Democrats are screwed this fall:

President Donald Trump’s approval rating in a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS stands at 35%, down five points over the last month to match his lowest level yet.

The slide follows a January bump in approval for the President, a finding that appeared connected to a bullish stock market and strong reviews for the economy. His new rating matches a December poll, which marked his lowest approval rating in CNN polling since taking office in January 2017.

The President also earns his lowest rating yet among Republicans, though he is still viewed positively among his own partisans. Overall, 80% of self-identified Republicans say they approve of the President, one point below his previous low mark of 81%, hit in late September of last year. Just 13% of Republicans say they disapprove of the President’s performance. Approval for the President stands at just 5% among Democrats and 35% among independents.

The findings follow several weeks of sharply negative news about the President’s White House staff, including the revelation that several key staffers lacked permanent security clearance, the implementation of a new policy to handle interim security clearances, and news that multiple White House staffers had resigned following accusations of domestic abuse.

Of course, none of this is really good for the country. But there is zero reason to believe that Trump will not continue to sabotage his own party moving forward, even more than most presidents hurt their party in midterm elections. With the ongoing Mueller investigation and the unforced error of the day, Democratic enthusiasm will remain high, Republican will likely be repressed to some extent, and there is a good chance Democrats retake the House and win several governorships and possibly, just maybe, take the Senate. The continued special election results suggest things are moving in the right direction for November, if we work hard enough.