WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans doubt President Donald Trump’s honesty, view him as a weak leader and don’t want him to run again — but Republican lawmakers say he isn’t a drag on their agenda and predict he will be a formidable candidate in 2020.
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed in the latest Economist-YouGov web-based survey are so put off by the chief executive they want him to opt against a re-election bid. The results are not kind to Trump, with 54 percent saying they either somewhat or strongly disapprove of how the president is doing his job; 39 percent approve.
When asked if they view Trump as “not honest and trustworthy,” 53 percent agreed with that assessment. Just 30 percent agreed with an assessment that the president is “honest and trustworthy.” Before the 2016 election, many political experts predicted concerns about his temperament might sink his candidacy; nine months into his term, 56 percent doubt he has the right disposition for the country’s highest office (31 percent think he does).
Trump’s negatives are at or above 40 percent on key issues like voters’ views of his honesty, experience, sincerity and ability to inspire. And only about one-third of those surveyed (37 percent) view him as effective at this point in his presidency. The survey polled 1,500 people from Oct. 1-3, and has a 3-point error margin.
On the important issue of Trump as a leader, more than half, 54 percent, see Trump as “somewhat weak” or “very weak.” But 46 percent view him as a “very strong” or “somewhat strong” leader.
On the leadership question, the GOP president is still without a major legislative accomplishment even though his party controls both chambers of Congress. Two bills that would have partially repealed and replaced the 2010 health law stalled in the Senate, with Trump unable to convince a handful of holdout Republicans that fulfilling a campaign vow outweighed their concerns with the bills.
An adage in Washington is lawmakers will turn even on a president of their own political party if his poll numbers tumble low enough. So far, Trump is defying that.
“What hurts us is not the president’s polling. It’s our inaction,” said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C. “I can tell you that if we don’t get things done, we will hope and pray for the president’s poll numbers to be ours because ours will be a whole a lot less. … It’s Congress’s inaction that adversely affects his poll numbers.”
The survey backs up Meadows on the unpopularity of Congress. Only 2 percent strongly approve of the way Congress is doing its job, with another 8 percent somewhat approving. That’s stacked up against 59 percent who either strongly disapprove or somewhat disapprove of how Congress conducts itself professionally.
Meadows, who has said he talks with the president about the GOP legislative agenda with some frequency, then added with a chuckle: “You ought to check out the last poll that came out in my state. They want him to run again.”
GOP Rep. Peter T. King of New York dismissed the notion that the poll numbers make Trump a drag on the Republican agenda. “Nah,” he said with a dismissive hand wave when asked if he agreed with that premise.
“I saw a poll in my district … where his unfavorables had gone up considerably,” King said of his Long Island-based 2nd District. “I live in a Democratic district that Obama carried twice — but the president would still beat Hillary Clinton head-to-head in the district.” Trump beat Clinton 53 percent to 44 percent last year in the district.
That means Republicans like King are likely to stand by Trump and continue pushing his agenda because they view him as having the electoral support of their constituents. And to that end, both Meadows and King noted something that also shows up in the Economist/YouGov results: Around one-third of those surveyed often give the president high or above-average marks.
“He probably has a larger base than anyone in the country,” King said. “People seemed inclined to say, ‘He talks too much or he tweets too much.’ But when he’s up against someone else (in poll questions), they still go with him.
“He’s going to be a strong, strong candidate in 2020,” King added.
Some GOP members, like Bill Flores of Texas, opted against uttering anything negative about Trump, declining to comment on a survey they have yet to review.
South Carolina GOP Rep. Mark Sanford said the findings about what people think about Trump’s temperament and his prospects for 2020 was merely a matter of the general electorate deciding for themselves what to make of the president.
“The public’s sentiment is the public’s sentiment. People decide what they decide at an individual level,” Sanford said. “I’ll leave it to you all to interpret the tea leaves as to what that means.”
Asked whether Trump’s low poll ratings erode his sway on Capitol Hill and ability to wrangle the Republican caucus, Sanford demurred in his Palmetto State drawl with a slight grin: “Y’all will decide that one.”
