Trump’s approval rating drops further amid extended shutdown

President Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 44 percent among registered voters in the latest Hill-HarrisX public opinion survey, its lowest point yet since the partial government shutdown began in December.

Trump’s approval rating in the poll was 47 percent on Dec. 26 and 45 percent on January 9 in polls conducted by Hill-HarrisX.

The new poll, which was conducted Monday and Tuesday, found that 56 percent of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s performance of his official duties. That’s up from 53 percent on Dec. 26 and 55 percent on Jan. 9.

“One of the hallmarks of the Trump era really is that we’ve seen stability in his approval ratings. And one of the things that’s really notable recently is that since late December … there actually seems to be some movement in the negative direction for Trump,” Dan Cox, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute said on Wednesday’s edition of “What America’s Thinking,” Hill.TV’s show about public opinion and polling.

The president’s numbers have seen a larger decline in other polls since the shutdown began, perhaps stemming from this pronouncement before it began that he would “take the mantle” for closing the government.

The RealClearPolitics average of public surveys has shown Trumps’ approval rating falling from 43.6 percent on Dec. 8 to 40.8 in today’s edition.

Even Rasmussen Reports, a pollster which has long been the president’s favorite, has shown that public discontent with Trump has increased during the shutdown. The day before the shutdown began, Trump’s approval rating stood at 49 percent among likely voters, according to the right-leaning opinion research firm. As of today, it stands at 44 percent.

The president’s numbers have taken a hit in part because independent voters are almost 3 times as likely to blame him for the shutdown, a Hill-HarrisX survey released earlier this month found. The survey also found that GOP voters were much less likely to blame the opposing party for the government closure compared to Democratic ones.

— Matthew Sheffield