President Trump's approval rating dipped to a dismal 34 percent in the latest Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. A whopping 57 percent of Americans now disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, marking a "new low" for Trump in the poll. Quinnipiac's findings are about on par with FiveThirtyEight's average of Trump's disapproval rating, 55.9 percent, and 38.3 percent approval number.
Trump's atrocious approval rating is just the beginning of the bad news for the president. Quinnipiac also found that 68 percent of Americans do not believe Trump is level-headed, and one-third of Trump's own party questions just how level-headed he is. Only 32 percent of voters believe Trump "did nothing wrong" with Russia, while 31 percent say he did something "illegal" and 29 percent say he did something "unethical." Sixty-eight percent of voters reported being either "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about Trump's relationship with Russia.
Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Tim Malloy likened this poll to the moment in a "prize fight" where "someone in [Trump's] corner might be thinking about throwing in the towel." "There is zero good news for President Donald Trump in this survey, just a continual slide into a chasm of doubt about his policies and his very fitness to serve," Malloy said.
The Quinnipiac University Poll was conducted by phone from May 31 to June 6 among 1,361 voters nationwide. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Becca Stanek
"We have made a lot of progress as far as denuclearization is concerned and we are talking about a lot of different things. Things are going very well with North Korea," President Trump told reporters Saturday of his Friday conversation with North Korean negotiator Kim Yong Chol.
"That was an incredible meeting," Trump said. "We've agreed to [another summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un], probably the end of February. We've picked a country, but we'll be announcing it in the future. Kim Jong Un is looking very forward to it and so am I."
Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore are thought to be under consideration for the summit's location. Read a "plausible roadmap to peace with North Korea" from The Week's Harry J. Kazianis here. Bonnie Kristian
At least 66 people were killed and dozens more injured Friday when a fuel pipeline in Mexico exploded after being ruptured by fuel thieves. Some 85 people not included in the current death toll are listed as missing as of Saturday morning.
A crowd of people had gathered to collect the spilling fuel in plastic containers when the fireball occurred. Local authorities said the death toll could continue to rise given the severity of the injuries and the number of people whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Illegal pipeline taps like this one, which occurred near the town of Tlahuelilpan about 60 miles north of Mexico City, are a chronic problem in Mexico; an average of 42 taps were drilled daily in the first 10 months of 2018. "Far from stopping the fight ... against fuel theft, it's going to become stronger," said Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Saturday. "We'll continue until we've eradicated these practices." Bonnie Kristian
Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery for his fatal shooting of a black teenager named Laquan McDonald in 2014, was sentenced Friday to six years and nine months in prison.
With good behavior, Van Dyke could be out of custody in three years or less, his lawyer said. The special prosecutor who handled the case had requested a sentence of 18 to 20 years, and the sentence Van Dyke received is for the murder charge alone, not the battery. Each of the battery convictions had a mandatory minimum sentence of six years, and the judge could have ordered them to be served sequentially.
On Thursday, three other officers accused of falsifying reports to justify the shooting were acquitted. Bonnie Kristian
Saturday's third annual Women's March is expected to draw smaller crowds than in previous years thanks to accusations of anti-Semitism among national organizers.
Former Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) formally withdrew her participation Friday, saying she "cannot associate with the national march's leaders and principles, which refuse to completely repudiate anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry."
Other prominent speakers and sponsors from past years — including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the Democratic National Committee, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and NARAL — have cut ties as well. Most did not issue specific statements explaining their decision.
For those who do participate, events are organized in Washington, D.C., as well as hundreds of other cities nationwide and around the world. Policy focuses this year include the minimum wage, health care, and opposition to President Trump.
Read The Week's Shikha Dalmia here on the controversy and divisions within the march's ranks. Bonnie Kristian
