Trump's approval rating hits new low after scandal-plagued week

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published 19 May 2017

President Trump's approval rating just hit a new low, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday found. Just 38 percent of adults approve of Trump's performance while a whopping 56 percent disapprove, the lowest mark for the president since his inauguration. Roughly 6 percent of respondents said they had "mixed feelings."

The last two weeks have been tumultuous for Trump, starting with his abrupt dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and the White House's subsequent struggle to offer a consistent explanation for the firing. This week, a steady flow of leaks has upended Washington: On Monday, it was reported Trump shared highly classified intelligence information, gathered by Israel, with Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office last week; on Tuesday, the existence of memos written by Comey detailing his interactions with Trump, including when the president asked him to halt the investigation into Russia-linked former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, was revealed; on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to head the Russia investigation; and on Thursday, it was reported Trump asked Comey when the FBI would be stating publicly that Trump himself was not under investigation for potential ties to Russia.

The Reuters poll was conducted May 14-18 among 1,971 adults, including 795 Democrats and 721 Republicans. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. On Friday, after the poll closed, The New York Times reported Trump bragged about firing Comey in his Oval Office meeting with the Russian officials, calling Comey a "nut job" and saying dismissing him had "taken off" the "great pressure" from the Russia investigation. The Washington Post reported, nearly simultaneously, that the investigation of potential collusion with Russia is closing in on a current White House official who is "close to the president," and that the "intensity of the probe is expected to accelerate."