Nate Silver’s latest polling compilation shows Donald Trump’s disapproval 56.4%, the highest since December 2017. His approval is hovering around 40%. And note the trend lines with 126 days until Election Day.
So, why are Trump’s numbers tanking? Is the economy or the pandemic? The Atlantic writes it’s neither. It’s race.
“Polls have consistently shown that Americans disapprove of his response to protests of police violence and believe that he has worsened race relations. In the New York Times/Siena poll, race relations (33 percent) and the protests (29 percent) are the only areas where issue approval lags behind his overall vote preference. In the Harvard/Harris poll, the same two areas earn Trump his worst marks of any issue, though they are still slightly higher than his expected vote.
“Voters are right that Trump is worsening race relations and handling the protests poorly. In the past two days alone, the president has retweeted (and then deleted) a video of one of his supporters shouting “White power!” and another of two white supporters pointing guns at black protesters marching past their house.”