Trump hits record approval in Fox News poll

President Trump has the highest approval rating of his time in office, according to a Fox News poll released Thursday. 

The Fox News poll found 49 percent of registered voters approve of Trump, his highest point since becoming president. The approval rating is a slight increase from 48 percent in March and 47 percent in February. 

The president’s disapproval rating dipped to 49 percent.

Eighty-nine percent of Republicans approve of Trump, 2 percentage points lower than his highest point, 91 percent, in January. He scored at or almost at his records among women, Democrats, whites and white evangelical Christians. 

When specifically looking at the pandemic, 51 percent of voters backed Trump.

Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci ranked at 80 percent approval, followed by Deborah Birx at 62 percent and Vice President Pence at 52 percent. 

“The president’s bump in approval isn’t huge, and certainly not on par with the rally effect for George W. Bush after 9/11,” Republican pollster Daron Shaw said, according to Fox News. “But it could be consequential that he’s closing in on 50 percent, which is critical for his reelection chances.”

The president has held daily press briefings during the pandemic and worked with governors to send supplies and help to states, although critics say he didn’t respond to the crisis fast enough. 

Congress’s approval rating jumped four percentage points since March and nine percentage points since February to 35 percent.

Congress has passed three coronavirus stimulus bills in March, including one that will provide checks directly to Americans. 

In the meantime, 77 percent of voters approve of their state government’s response to the pandemic, while 56 percent approve of the federal response. In March, 74 percent supported the state government’s response, and 55 percent backed the federal response. 

The poll was conducted by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company (R). It surveyed 1,107 registered voters between April 4 and 7, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.