Trump’s Approval Rating Is Holding Up. But Why?
It’s possible that the president’s numbers are simply locked in. But there are more likely explanations.
Still on board.
Photographer: Matt Sullivan/Getty
Three weeks into the Ukraine scandal, there’s been basically no movement in President Donald Trump’s approval rating. He’s at 42.2%, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling tracker, down just a bit from where he was on Sept. 24. The big change, which I looked at last week, is that the group of voters who oppose Trump and also oppose impeachment has emptied out. Now turn to the question of why his approval rating has stayed stable so far.
One possibility concerns an argument aired by the political scientist Matthew Dickinson on Friday: “Fascinating to watch dueling Ukraine narratives by elites on both sides. It's as if one side is completely unaware that there's an alternative frame being peddled out there.”