Trump's approval ratings unaffected by action in Syria

Impact

Listen to cable news talk about the Syria strikes, and you'd think President Donald Trump was a changed man, born again in the cleansing light of serious decisions.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria lauded the strike as a new inauguration for Trump, lavishing the president with praise for acting presidential. NBC's Brian Williams recited Leonard Cohen lyrics to express how beautiful he found the footage of the attack. Even the Democrats golf-clapped the missile strikes, declaring it a righteous way to lead if nothing else.

But the American people aren't impressed. Since the Syria strike, Trump's Gallup poll numbers have remained entirely flat. His approval rating has remained at a flat 40% since the attack. Meanwhile, his disapproval rating also remained about the same at 54%, before dropping to 53% days later.

Gallup

Not even Trump's diehard fans appreciated the strike. Quite the contrary: His far-right supporters doubled down on their isolationism, and some of the more virulent alt-right reactionaries, like Richard Spencer, swore him off entirely.

As for the strike itself, voters are more divided than usual, as Americans typically support military intervention.

In late March, as Republicans fumbled an attempt to swap Obamacare with an austere replacement, Trump's approval rating dropped to 35%, lower than the lowest points for Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. 

Just 1,379 days left to go.