WASHINGTON — While President Donald Trump has largely enjoyed enduring support from his base voters, a new poll finds that more than half of Republicans have at least some reservations about his conduct as president.
The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, finds that nearly half of Republicans and those who lean Republican — 46 percent — say they have “mixed feelings” about how Trump conducts himself as president, and another 19 percent say they don’t approve of Trump’s conduct as commander-in-chief at all.
Trump, who has been plagued throughout his presidency by questions about his temperament and rhetoric from the Oval Office, gets a full-throated positive review of his conduct from just 16 percent of those surveyed overall, including just a third of Republicans and 2 percent of Democrats.
On policy issues, Trump garners more confidence from Republicans, although about a third of his own party members still report feeling at odds with the White House. Thirty-one percent of Republicans and Republican leaners say they agree with all or nearly all of Trump’s stances on major issues facing the country today, while 38 percent say they are on board with many, but not all, of his positions. Three-in-10 Republicans also say that they agree with the president on only “a few” issues or none at all.
Despite Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” and bring outsiders in to shake up Washington D.C., a majority of members of his own party advise him to listen more to other Republicans with experience working in government. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans say Trump should heed more advice from seasoned political veterans, while 34 percent disagree.
The survey of 1,893 adults was conducted August 15-21, 2017. More details on the methodology of the survey are available here.
