By Gene Bregman (www.politicalbluegene.com) –
Once again, I heard someone on MSNBC talk about the bump that Trump achieved in his approval ratings since the advent of the pandemic. Only thing is, the bump doesn’t exist.
According to Real Clear Politics, eight national polls were released today (April 8) and the average rating for Trump was Approve = 45%, Disapprove = 51%. If that’s a bump, what will happen when things go back down?
There is also evidence that his approval rating for how he is handling the coronavirus pandemic, which had been slightly positive, now mirrors his overall approval ratings. The five polls that asked this question gave Trump a combined rating of Approve = 46%, Disapprove = 51%.
For a brief time, Trump allowed Dr. Anthony Fauci and others to take the lead at the daily briefings. But he could not permit that to continue. In his mind, he must always be the center of attention and he can do no wrong. So, he has quickly reverted to attacking anybody and everybody for the failures of his administration and has reminded everyone of who and what he is.
Maybe David Brooks, New York Times and PBS Newshour contributor, is correct. Brooks has argued for some time that nothing in the current situation will make much difference to Trump’s approval ratings. Most everyone made up their minds a long time ago about him and that’s that.
(Gene Bregman is a veteran political pollster headquartered in Sacramento CA)
