A lot of Americans spent 2017 bailing on the Republican Party

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website December 11, 2017:

Protesters walk during the Women’s March on Washington, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, on Jan. 21. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

For much of 2017, President Trump’s poll numbers have been pretty consistent. In its most recent weekly average, Gallup has Trump at 36 percent approval — within two points of where he has been since July. Trump is where he is because, although Democrats hate him and independents generally view him negatively, he continues to enjoy high approval ratings from Republicans. Eighty-two percent of those in his own party approve of Trump, as of last week. That’s pretty good, but not good enough to keep Trump’s overall approval from being historically low for a modern president.

The problem for Trump may not just be that only Republicans like him, but that there are fewer Republicans than there were a year ago. Continue reading “A lot of Americans spent 2017 bailing on the Republican Party”