Although President Trump holds the worst approval rating of any modern president at this early stage, The Washington Examiner reports that Trump is stronger than national polls suggest.
According to the Examiner, there are two inherent national polling flaws:
- Trump is strong in the parts of the country where it matters most.
- "Writing about the national numbers in this environment is a useless exercise," Republican operative David Carney told the Examiner. "People are arguing over Super Bowl ads, the country is divided."
According to the Examiner's reporting, Trump is and will likely remain vastly unpopular in the big metro areas - New York, Los Angeles, Chicago. However, his election was - and the 2018 midterms will be - won in the heart of America - Missouri, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Further, while people generally don't like Trump, they like his policies. A reversal from President Obama.
"Generally Obama enjoyed higher ratings on anything touching on him personally, but support for his specific policies, often lagged in comparison," Republican strategist Michael Meyers said. "Trump is the opposite. Some people may not approve of him personally, but they are showing stronger support for his proposals and policy ideas."
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