2 new polls show sharp drops in Trump's approval, honesty, intelligence ratings

Americans are happy with the economy, according to two polls released Monday. With President Trump? Not so much.

A new Quinnipiac University poll puts Trump's job approval rating at 38 percent, with 54 percent disapproving, a drop of 3 percentage points from Trump's 41 percent approval number on Aug. 14. Trump approval saw an even bigger slump in CNN/SRSS's poll, hitting 36 percent, from 42 percent in August. That drop was led by independents, 31 percent of whom approve of his job performance, from 47 percent last month. When it comes to the economy, meanwhile, 70 percent of Americans in Quinnipiac's poll say it is good or excellent, while CNN's poll found 69 percent calling the economy "good" and 26 percent "very good."

"The economy booms, but President Donald Trump's numbers are a bust," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll. "An anemic 38 percent approval rating is compounded by lows on honesty, strength, and intelligence. But Trump's base remains loyal." In the Quinnipiac poll, 60 percent of voters said Trump is not honest, a new low, while 32 percent said he is honest. In CNN's poll, only 32 percent of adults said Trump is honest and trustworthy, a new low in CNN's polling. Trump fared poorly on assessed smarts, too, with a Quinnipiac-record-low 51 percent saying he is intelligent, from 57 percent in July and 74 percent in November 2016. Only 48 percent of voters said he is mentally stable, and 55 percent judged him not fit to serve as president.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump's approval rating in the RealClearPolitics average is 41.1 percent, with 53.5 percent disapproving. Both new polls were conducted via phone Sept. 6-9; Quinnipiac surveyed 1,038 voters nationwide, with a ±3.7 point margin of error, while CNN and SRSS contacted 1,003 adults, reporting a margin of sampling error of ±3.8 points.