President Donald Trump's polls have been on a downward spiral since his disastrous summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he sided with the Russian leader over his own intelligence agencies on whether or not Russia meddled with United States elections during the 2016 campaign.
First, we saw last week's Quinnipiac poll showing Trump falling to 38%.
President Trump's job approval rating is 38% in the new Quinnipiac poll. 82% among Republicans, 7% among Democrats… https://t.co/8O25x56N2Z— Sahil Kapur (@Sahil Kapur) 1532452423.0
And now we have the new Gallup poll, which shows Trump losing a net of 6 points in his approval rating since the July 16th Helsinki meeting, dropping to 40% approve and 55% disapprove:
NEW: Trump's approval rating dipped down to 40 percent in latest Gallup weekly tracking poll https://t.co/XPOLEjzJtA— Laura Litvan (@Laura Litvan) 1532970252.0
The news comes after Trump recently bragged on Twitter about his numbers in an unspecified poll.
Thank you to all of my great supporters, really big progress being made. Other countries wanting to fix crazy trade… https://t.co/j27IxnEzU6— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1531220370.0
Many Americans aren't surprised at Gallup's findings, including Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA).
Gallup has tracked @realDonaldTrump since his relatively small inauguration. On 2/12/17, Trump was at 53% disapprov… https://t.co/iV0aZ8duMr— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1532983353.0
Gallup Poll #s for week off July 23-29. Cartoon for Day # 556; This week's results won't be anything he's bragging… https://t.co/Ek2BY8beHM— KingOfPies (@KingOfPies) 1532985845.0
@TheDemCoalition @realDonaldTrump Finally- some are returning to their real religious values- pastors Point out the… https://t.co/6lvuMoRabx— Deb (@Deb) 1532965569.0
Others, however, are aghast that the numbers are so high.
@LauraLitvan I can’t believe how high it is honestly— Bethany 🌎☄️💥 (@Bethany 🌎☄️💥) 1532971595.0
@LauraLitvan It just doesn’t seem possible that 4 out of every 10 people I see out and about approve of this maniac at the helm.— Greg Daake (@Greg Daake) 1532983890.0
@LauraLitvan @Toure How could it possibly be that high?— Joshua Roberts (@Joshua Roberts) 1532983495.0
However, Democrats shouldn't begin popping bottles just yet.Trump's Republican approval seems to be holding strong.
Axios reported last week that 79 percent of GOP voters approved of the president's performance in Helsinki, indicating that regardless of his actions, Trump's party support will remain steadfast.
Trump himself even (falsely) asserted that he had the highest poll numbers of any Republican since Abraham Lincoln.
Wow, highest Poll Numbers in the history of the Republican Party. That includes Honest Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reaga… https://t.co/fGyiF6AmKT— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1532864640.0
Some on the Trump team appear to be taking advantage of the unyielding support of his base. On Monday, the president's head lawyer, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani took to Fox & Friends and made a startling assertion:
I have been sitting here trying to find collusion as a crime. Collusion is not a crime...Everything that's been released so far finds the president absolutely innocent. He didn't do anything wrong,” Giuliani added.
With the Trump base likely to accept the claims, it's likely GOP support will remain or even grow. Americans noticed and they were vexed to say the least, with many seeing it as an indication of what's expected to be revealed.
Rudy Giuliani seems to have moved the Trump team goalposts from "no collusion" to "collusion is not a crime." https://t.co/seBnSdJ0R6— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1532964023.0
@CNN This is big. At this point Giuliani realizes that the charge of collusion will come forward. He wouldn't be t… https://t.co/p0Kvdky0GC— B (@B) 1532964832.0
Given how Rudy is on a full-tilt run this morning saying "collusion isn't a crime", I have to start wondering what… https://t.co/kj8pC1QlAH— Bradley P. Moss (@Bradley P. Moss) 1532957855.0
Though the Gallup poll may bolster some, his base may remain by his side regardless. Even if Special Counsel Mueller's so-called "Witch hunt," finds irrefutable evidence of collusion, this camel's back may be unbreakable.