Russia? What Russia? Trump is polling BETTER than Obama at the same point in his presidency despite scandals, staff turnover and a special counsel
Trump’s approval rating is 48 per cent, according to Rasmussen Reports, better than his 46.1 per cent showing in the 2016 election
The same poll had Obama at 45 per cent on February 21, 2010 – the same point in his tenure as commander-in-chief
Remarkable numbers come despite the special counsel’s Russia probe, women’s allegations of sexual misconduct and a crowded West Wing departure lounge
Obama lost 6 points during his second February, which saw Obamacare dominating the news and the beginnings of the Tea Party movement
He only achieved 50 per cent (or better) approval ratings 27 per cent of the time
By DAVID MARTOSKO
DAILYMAIL.COM
21 February 2018
Despite a never-ending drumbeat of criticism and suspicion related to a trio of Russia investigations, President Donald Trump’s approval rating is in better shape than Barack Obama’s was at the same point in his presidency.
Trump’s job approval number stood at 48 per cent on Wednesday in a Rasmussen Reports tracking poll. Fifty-one per cent disapprove.
On February 21, 2010, Obama’s was 45 per cent, with 54 per cent opposed to his work in the Oval Office.
Trump’s current level of support is also above his performance level in the 2016 election, when 46.1 per cent of voters chose him over Hillary Clinton and a handful of minor candidates.
Obama began his presidency at 67 per cent approval in the Rasmussen tracking poll, compared with 56 per cent for Trump.
Yet 13 months later, the two men have switched places on Rasmussen’s Oval Office leaderboard.
The February during Obama’s first full year in office was a mishmash of trouble spots that drove his numbers down by 6 points – back to where they were before his first State of the Union address.
The unemployment rate in February 2010 was hovering near 10 per cent, too, as Americans held their breath before seeing that number cut in half by the end of Obama’s second term.
Also percolating in the nation’s consciousness at the time was the looming Affordable Care Act, still a month from becoming law.
The ‘Obamacare spring’ polarized voters, decreasing his ‘strongly approve’ numbers by one-third and doubling the number of Americans who ‘strongly disapproved’ of the then-president’s job performance.
Republicans, meanwhile, were warming up to the nascent Tea Party movement, which had had its first convention in Nashville on February 4.
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