The Note: Low Favorability, High Expectations for Trump

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January 17, 2017

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Low Favorability, High Expectations for Trump

Trump to Enter Office as Most Unpopular President in at Least 40 Years, Poll Finds

Donald Trump enters office as the most unpopular of at least the last seven newly elected presidents, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds, with ratings for handling the transition that are also vastly below those of his predecessors. Forty percent of Americans in the national survey approve of the way Trump has handled the transition, half as many as the 80 percent who approved of Barack Obama's preparations to take office. Trump also far trails George W. Bush (72 percent transition approval), Bill Clinton (81 percent) and George H.W. Bush (82 percent) on this measure. Similarly, just 40 percent in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, approve of most of Trump's cabinet choices -- trailing his four predecessors by anywhere from 19 to 26 percentage points. ABC's GARY LANGER has more. http://abcn.ws/2k0pQqh

Expectations for Trump

Even with those weak ratings, Trump garners high expectations on some issues: Six in 10 Americans expect him to do an excellent or good job on the economy and on jobs alike, and 56 percent expect him to do well in handling terrorism. According to ABC's GARY LANGER, positive expectations for Trump drop to around 50 percent on three other issues -- helping the middle class, handling the deficit and making Supreme Court appointments. Expectations go negative on four more -- handling health care, international crises, race relations and issues of particular concern to women. http://abcn.ws/2k0pQqh

Analysis - ABC's RICK KLEIN

What the heck does he have to lose, one might ask. More than half the country views Donald Trump unfavorably, according to the new ABC News/Washington Post poll. That gives him the weakest approval ratings of any incoming president in the modern era of polling, going back 40 years. His inauguration week is being dominated by a feud with a civil-rights icon that's leading to boycotts of his big event. Yes, John Lewis started it – and his declaration that Trump is not a legitimate president is potentially corrosive. Yet Trump will be the president starting Friday; if ever there was a moment where he could ignore the polls and his critics, one might think this would be it. There are lessons Donald Trump will never learn, and some that will hit him along with the presidency, surely. He sees himself, and his followers, as unduly persecuted. Will being on the inside change that?