Tag: polling

Five things to keep in mind whenever Trump tweets about polling

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website April 16, 2018:

President Trump speaks to the press before departing the White House. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

For the third time in two weeks, President Trump on Sunday touted poll numbers that showed half the country approving of the job he’s doing as president.

“Just hit 50% in the Rasmussen Poll, much higher than President Obama at same point,” Trump wrote, with his characteristically idiosyncratic capitalization. “With all of the phony stories and Fake News, it’s hard to believe! Thank you America, we are doing Great Things.”

That tweet provides a great opportunity to review some of the ways in which Trump uses poll numbers to present a rosier case for his presidency than is warranted. So let’s do so. Continue reading “Five things to keep in mind whenever Trump tweets about polling”

Poll shows clear disapproval of how Trump responded to Charlottesville violence

The following article by Scott Clement and David Nakamura was posted on the Washington Post website August 21, 2017:

Twice as many Americans disapprove than approve of President Trump’s response to the deadly Charlottesville protests led by white supremacists that ignited widespread political backlash against the White House, although a majority of Republicans offer at least tepid support in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Trump’s handling of the racially charged clashes at the Unite the Right rally Aug. 12 erupted into a major flash point in his administration and earned him rebukes from members of Congress, military leaders and major business executives. The president equivocated in denouncing the hate groups and cast blame on “both sides” for the deadly violence, prompting criticism that he was fanning racial tensions. Continue reading “Poll shows clear disapproval of how Trump responded to Charlottesville violence”