The Note: How Low Can They Go?

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June 15, 2016

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How Low Can They Go?

By the Numbers

Seven in 10 Americans see Donald Trump unfavorably in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, up 10 points in just the past month to a new high since he announced his candidacy for president. But Hillary Clinton reached a new high for unfavorability as well, 55 percent. The results mark the striking challenges facing both candidates, cementing their position as the two most unpopular presumptive major party nominees for president in ABC News/Washington Post polling dating to 1984. More below from ABC's GARY LANGER: http://abcn.ws/1UtdgdA

A Closer Look at Trump

Trump's result reverses a boost he received after securing the Republican presidential nomination, from 37-60 percent favorable-unfavorable in mid-May to 29-70 percent now, after a week in which he took sharp criticism for suggesting that he was being treated unfairly by a federal judge because of the judge's Mexican heritage. Trump's unfavorable score is a point from his highest on record, 71 percent in late May last year, just before he formally entered the presidential race June 16. His decline in favorability in the past month was broadly based across groups. http://abcn.ws/1UtdgdA

A Closer Look at Clinton

Clinton, while less poorly rated than Trump overall, has troubles of her own -- no bounce in favorability after clinching the Democratic contest last week. From a 44-53 percent favorable-unfavorable rating last month, she's at 43-55 percent now. While that's within the margin of sampling error, it's numerically Clinton's highest disapproval rating on record, in polls dating to her first appearance on the national stage in March 1992. http://abcn.ws/1UtdgdA

Analysis -- ABC's Rick Klein

It was Orlando, of course, that drew the sharp reaction to Donald Trump by President Obama. But Obama's speech Tuesday was a response to much more than that. He offered a repudiation of Trump's policies and rhetoric. It was a denunciation of the last year of politics, and just about everything Trump has come to represent in the American electorate. Trump himself marches on as if nothing has changed in the political landscape or calendar. Swap out "Lyin' Ted" for "Crooked Hillary" – and strip away any recent polling references, of course – and a Trump speech from June could be mistaken for a Trump speech from March, or January, or maybe even last June. With little evidence that Trump is headed in the right direction – his unfavorable number reaching 70 percent in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll – this week is shaping up to be another rough one for the presumptive Republican nominee. And with a president now engaged in the fight, there could be more to come along those same lines.