Fewer than half of white men and rural Americans approve of Trump in brutal new poll

President Trump is dissected by the L.A. Times, in four parts — (Image credit: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

When President Trump's approval rating dropped to 35 percent in Gallup's tracking poll last week, it appeared to be something of an outlier — in other polls, Trump's approval was at 38 percent to 45 percent. But while Trump has risen back up to 38 percent in Gallup, a new poll from Investor's Business Daily and TIPP released Monday pegged his approval at 34 percent, an 11-point drop from the IBD/TIPP poll last month; 56 percent disapprove of Trump's performance. Only 49 percent of white men and 41 percent of rural Americans approve of the president. And that's just the tip of the bad-news spear in the poll, conducted March 24-30.

For example, just 37 percent of respondents rate Trump's handling of the economy as "good" or "excellent," down from 43 percent, and the GOP health-care bill he is trying to revive got a thumbs-up from only 25 percent of respondents who are paying attention, with a bare 52 percent of Republicans saying it would improve America's health-care system. Perhaps most galling for Trump, 49 percent of respondents said he is providing weak leadership for the U.S., versus 35 percent who say he's a strong leader.

Raghavan Mayur, the head of the polling firm that conducted the survey, TechnoMetrica, blames Trump's sagging fortunes on his "ambitious agenda" running into "some obstacles in Congress," especially the failed health-care bill, plus the negative press from the Russia investigation. The poll reached 904 people and has a margin of error of ±3.3 percentage points. In the RealClearPolitics average, Trump's approval rating hovers at 40 percent, with 53 percent disapproving.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.