Trump’s Approval Is Way Below Historical Norms

Walter Shapiro: “Polling, dating back to the 1960s, suggests that presidential approval should be near 60 percent (or higher) with a booming economy and few American combat deaths abroad. Instead, Trump is at 41 percent from Gallup… and 43 percent in the moving average from RealClearPolitics.”

“Historical parallels should be regarded as suggestive rather than worshipped as objective truth. Certainly, 9/11, the Iraq War and the Great Recession have undermined faith in all authority figures. But Barack Obama still managed to leave office 17 months ago with a hefty 59 percent approval rate, a number that Trump has never come close to approaching.”