A Rec List diary by durrati https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/8/2/1686345/-New-Quinnipiac-POll-Has-Trump-s-Approval-Down-7-Points-to-33 focused on Trump’s approval rating falling 7 points since the last Q poll. I did not find a link to the referenced poll, https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2476 , but when I visited it I was stunned by the poll’s results that are not being talked about much, if at all.
The breakdowns for the Q poll cited are for the aggregate numbers and reflect the total population. But here are a smattering of some numbers from the poll not discussed by durrati that will confirm just how crazy, and scary, the times we live in are:
From Quinnipiac:
1a. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as President? COMBINED WITH: (If approve/disapprove q1) Do you strongly or somewhat approve/disapprove?
WHITE......
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Approve strongly 23% 53% 1% 22% 27% 19% 22% 29%
Approve smwht 10 23 1 12 13 8 11 13
Disapprove smwht 6 7 3 7 7 5 6 6
Disapprove strongly 55 10 93 53 46 63 59 43
DK/NA 6 7 3 7 7 5 3 8
(Over one-half of all Republicans strongly approve of the job Trump is doing; Democrats almost unanimously disapprove. If you add in the Republicans who ‘approve somewhat’ their number increases to 76%.)
5. Is your opinion of Donald Trump favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
WHITE......
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Favorable 34% 79% 2% 34% 39% 29% 33% 45%
Unfavorable 61 17 97 59 55 67 64 49
Hvn't hrd enough 2 2 1 3 3 2 1 3
REFUSED 2 2 1 4 3 2 1 3
(Democrats have a nearly 100% unfavorable opinion of Trump; Republicans almost 80% FAVORABLE!)
13. Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the next few years with Donald Trump as president?
WHITE......
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Optimistic 43% 84% 14% 43% 49% 38% 38% 51%
Pessimistic 53 15 83 52 48 57 59 45
DK/NA 4 2 3 5 4 4 2 4
(Republicans 84% optimistic for the Trump years; 83% of Democrats pessimistic!)
16. Would you say that Donald Trump - is honest, or not?
WHITE......
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Yes 34% 76% 3% 32% 39% 28% 33% 43%
No 62 20 95 62 56 67 64 51
DK/NA 5 4 1 5 4 5 3 6
(Holy shit! Three-quarters of Republicans believe Trump is honest! 95% of Democrats – dishonest! If ever there was a double standard by Republicans this has got to be it.)
18. Would you say that Donald Trump - cares about average Americans, or not?
WHITE......
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Yes 39% 85% 3% 40% 47% 32% 36% 52%
No 59 13 96 58 51 66 62 45
DK/NA 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2
Donald Trump can fool 85% of Republicans ALL THE TIME, but Democrats almost unanimously see through his bullshit.
22. Would you say that Donald Trump - is someone who shares your values, or not?
WHITE......
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Yes 34% 76% 2% 34% 38% 29% 32% 46%
No 63 20 98 63 59 68 66 50
DK/NA 3 3 1 3 3 3 2 4
(76% of Republicans know that Donald Trump shares their values, and on this I would agree! Democrats are, again, in near unanimous disagreement.)
Trump’s decline in poll numbers is noteworthy. But the Quinnipiac Poll numbers above confirm what we know from our everyday lives: Trump is not an aberration, his support within the Republican Party is astounding, given the reality of the man. But these poll numbers offer something that in almost ½ century of involvement with Democrats I have never seen: near unanimous agreement. A degree of agreement not based on messaging, but on what each and every Democrat sees for themselves.
For those who have been advocating for the Democratic Party to reach out to Trump voters these numbers raise the question of how do you reach out to those who follow blindly? But pause and reflect on Democrat’s virtual unanimous opposition to Trump’s honesty, performance, values and concern for people like them. Virtually no Democrats feel Trump cares about their lives (and they’d be right!)
Forget Hillary vs. Bernie. These poll numbers prove that Democrats are far, far, far more united than any newspaper columnist or talking head on TV wants to let people know.
It is not enough that Trump’s overall approval rating is going down. Or that Democrats are united. We need to be bringing the approval rating for the entire Republican Party down, even further than Trump’s. Our fight cannot be confined to Trump, we are already united in that cause, and Republican’s numbers provide no reasonable expectation for change by them. Our fight must be expanded to the entire Republican Party, that Party which gave birth to Trump. The Party that promotes Trump’s lies for political gain, and that Party that would abuse and ignore the law and Constitution to keep Trump in office.
Embrace the division in America shown in this poll.
Build on the lesson of the health care “debate”. Republicans were united in their hatred and ignorance of Obamacare. But when Democrats, and the thousands of people who filled town halls and shared their stories, were able to communicate the facts of the Republican’s plan to the general public, and the harm that it was intended to inflict, 85% of our adult population opposed it. The same is possible for taxes, Social Security, Wall Street crimes, and so on.
Democrat’s entire messaging should be about drawing the distinctions between the two parties, based on the changes in store for people’s lives: what Democrats want to do for working people, and what Republicans want to do to them and what they want to do for the rich.