[CTC] Trump's economic approval rating hits new high in Washington Post-ABC News poll

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2020/01/27/the-finance-202-trump-s-economic-approval-rating-hits-new-high-in-washington-post-abc-news-poll/5e2e2d00602ff14e66059b70/ <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2020/01/27/the-finance-202-trump-s-economic-approval-rating-hits-new-high-in-washington-post-abc-news-poll/5e2e2d00602ff14e66059b70/>
 
The Finance 202: Trump's economic approval rating hits new high in Washington Post-ABC News poll
By Tory Newmyer 
01/27/2020
 
President Trump is notching his highest-ever marks for his handling of the economy, helping lift his overall approval rating to match his record peak of 44 percent, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
 
The survey found 55 percent of voters gave Trump a thumbs-up on his economic stewardship, 10 points higher than the last reading on that question in September and 5 points above the president's previous record, set in July.
 
The result is buoying the president even as the nation remains split over Trump's ongoing Senate impeachment trial. Though only 39 percent of those surveyed approved of how Trump has responded to his impeachment, a slight plurality opposed his removal from office, by 49 to 47 percent, the poll found.
 
The president is also benefiting from rising support from men. “The poll also finds a 57 percent majority of men approve of Trump, up 12 percentage points from October to the highest level of his presidency,” Post polling director Scott Clement writes. “By contrast, 33 percent of women approve of Trump’s performance, little changed from 31 percent in the fall. The 24-percentage-point gender gap in Trump’s approval rating is the largest in Post-ABC polls since he took office.”
 
The gap carried through to assessments of Trump’s handling of the economy. The overwhelming majority of men approved of his performance on that count, 70 to 25 percent. By contrast, only 44 percent of women gave Trump positive reviews for the economy, while 50 percent disapproved
 
 
It’s not clear what accounts for the apparently dramatic improvement in the reviews for Trump’s handling of the economy since the fall. Economists estimate fourth-quarter growth will underwhelm, with projections at 2 percent or worse — far below the 3.5 percent growth or better Trump has promised. Annual growth should clock in around 2.2 percent and is projected to slow further next year.
 
On the brighter side, unemployment remains at a five-decade low, a development that looks to be translating into wage gains, especially for those at the bottom of the income scale. The gains, at about 3 percent a year, are modest. But Goldman Sachs economists project they will continue to gain steam, rising to about 3.5 percent by the end of the year.
 
What the economy’s performance means for Trump’s reelection chances is a matter of debate. As the Wall Street Journal’s Jerry Seib notes, “The effects of the good economic news don’t cut evenly or neatly across the land, and political effects simply aren’t what analysts traditionally would have expected.”
 
“Some of those benefiting most from the Trump economy reside in urban areas on the coasts. Yet their hatred of the president burns hot despite the economic benefits they feel,” he writes. “Conversely, some of those who are still struggling in the Trump economy actually reside in the Trump strongholds of rural America and the working-class neighborhoods of the Rust Belt. Yet their support of the president seems as staunch as ever.”
 
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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