Trump’s approval rating sinks to new low in NBC/‘WSJ’ poll

President Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to a new low in a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday, with only 38% of voters approving of the president’s job performance and 58% disapproving.

The president’s numbers have fallen the most with independents, who went from 41% approval in September to 34% in October, and two key demographics at the core of Trump’s base: white voters (fell from 51% to 47%) and white voters without a college degree (58% to 51%).

Sunday’s poll marks Trump’s lowest numbers from an NBC/WSJ poll so far, with his lowest poll previously being 39% approval in May. The NBC poll has often rated Trump higher than other presidential polls, which have published approval ratings as low as 33%.

The president’s approval rating has fallen five points since September, NBC News reported, in the wake of Trump’s ongoing tension with a Gold Star widow and criticism from such members of his own party as Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake.

Trump’s low approval rating is the lowest for any president in modern history at this point in their presidency, NBC News noted. In the autumn of their first terms, President Barack Obama had a 51% approval rating, President George W. Bush had an 88% approval rating and President Bill Clinton had a 47% approval rating, according to the NBC/WSJ poll.

Sunday’s poll also revealed some potentially bad signs for congressional Republicans, with 48% of registered voters saying they would prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress versus only 41% wanting one controlled by Republicans. With the 2018 midterms a year away, 46% of respondents said they will be casting their ballot to “send a message” they want more Democrats in Congress to be a “check and balance to Trump and congressional Republicans.”