It’s perhaps worth keeping in mind that at this point, Trump has renegéd on a massive number of his campaign promises.
[ul]
[li] He’s changed his opinion on NATO[/li][li]He’s gone from “the peace candidate” to “the guy who bombs two countries in two days”[/li][li]America First is out[/li][li]Health care reform is dead because the republicans couldn’t get their ducks in a row[/li][li]The candidate who doesn’t take vacations has spent more in the last three months than Obama spent in 3 years on trips to Florida, and has spent quite a lot of time golfing[/li][li]China is apparently no longer a currency manipulator[/li][/ul]
And I’m sure I could go on. These are just the ones where it was Trump, not the democrats, who were at fault for the shift. Discounting things like the Muslim ban, a promise there was no way in hell he could keep, for example.
So who the fuck are these people who are satisfied with Trump’s performance? And what the fuck is wrong with them? Every day, there’s new news of Trump doing or saying something absurd, dangerous, or ridiculous. I’m just sort of left in awe, flabbergasted by this shit. I mean, I remember reading this article a month ago, where the author explained how absurd it was that Trump was still at 37% and tried to look into what it would take for his approval rating to go down (including such lovely ideas as him publishing a video jerking off with the constitution). In the last month, things have only gotten worse, and yet his approval rating is up.
How the fuck do you reach this apparently 41% of the goddamn country? What’s it gonna fucking take? Nuclear fucking war?!
You can just leave aside all the character issues and the flip-flopping on foreign policy because those supporters just don’t care. They voted strictly on pocketbook issues (mainly jobs, and possibly taxes) and those take a long time to show up, either positive or negative. In the meantime, he’s got the benefit of any doubt in their eyes. He tried on healthcare, it was Congress’ fault that it didn’t work.
There is also the lack of critical thinking. For example, before the election “true” unemployment was 35% (or whatever he was claiming) using his bogus methods of calculation. Now he is claiming credit for the current 5.x% unemployment, using the regular government method of calculation. How many folks can’t tell how illogical that is?
I think that his numbers are rising because those who reluctantly turned against him in the first few weeks are coming back, because he does seem to actually be learning a little bit from experience. After all, he is the first non-politician to be elected President, you can’t expect him to be an expert in everything all at once. He has already learned that trade and North Korea and healthcare are complicated issues that require nuanced answers. Look at that progress!
He’s a Republican (at least nominally), so he’s going to get 33% approval or thereabouts no matter what. That’s the floor. So the real approval rating is more like 10% or less. And note that it’s still lower than it was the first two months of this presidency.
Poll results go up and down. It’s the overall trend that matters. I’m confident the rating will drop again as the fat putz gets even deeper in over his head. Of course, that doesn’t bode well for the rest of us…
I think it is mainly up due to recent military action. For some reason, Americans seem to approve of military action no matter what. They could carpet bomb a neighborhood to kill a cat that is being noisy and people would approve because explosions and guns. U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!
OK, add “in a long time” if you want. Are we counting Eisenhower and Wilson? Anyone else since Wilson? Hoover was a cabinet secretary before being President, which is borderline politician.
You could probably add Ulysses Grant to that list, but I would note that Wilson was Governor of New Jersey from 1911-1913 so he wasn’t quite a political neophyte. And Grant and Eisenhower led major U.S. Armies, so had to know how the political winds were blowing and how to get political support to accomplish their missions.
So I think one can make the argument that Donald Trump probably has less background in how the ‘system’ works than any other President in history.
That is my take on it too. Even some media who had become lukewarm towards Trump started acting as if they were about to cream their pants and sing Hail to the Chief. ''He’s acting presidential" It make me want to leave the planet.
And in regards to the OP (apologies for continuing the derail on Presidential qualifications), I just looked at my Mutual funds and they’ve all had positive numbers January-March 2017. Gas prices seem stable and I got my tax refund from the government last month.
IMHO, if things seem stable at home and a large number of people are not having their daily lives affected by the President’s actions, most folks will ‘go along’ with the current status quo (excepting those on both sides that will never change). Until Trump’s actions (or inactions) begin to have an effect on many people’s bottom line, his numbers won’t crash (see 2008 crisis to see what happened last time).
Now I personally think in the long run he will screw up things, either on his own or in conjunction with the Republican majority in Congress, but it probably (probably!) won’t be a sudden thing, more like a slow-motion implosion as things pile up and begin to press the populace.
His base adores him primarily because he makes people like us livid with rage. And that’s one promise he’s certainly fulfilled.
“Haw haw! Stoopid book-readers! Someday I too will be able to quit my job down at the carpet remnant factory and grab models by th’ pussy and eat expensive steaks with my ketchup and play golf every day! …if I had any idea how to play golf.”
I’m guessing he’ll be viewed positively by Americans who think he’ll save America from… whatever, and he can drag this out as long as he keeps that hope alive and not shatter the illusion by actually doing anything.
Related, if he does try something bold but stupid and gets shot down by congress or the judiciary, he has a handy scapegoat. I anticipate many more ill-considered executive orders.
