President Trump’s approval rating has risen to the level before most of the country was forced to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a public opinion poll.
A survey taken by Rasmussen Reports indicates that 52 per cent of Americans approve of the job the president is doing.
It is the first time since February 27 that Rasmussen has given Trump a 52 per cent approval rating.
In March, the coronavirus began to spread more widely forcing many states into lockdown.
The Trump administration was criticized for not taking the virus seriously enough and waiting too long to enact measures that could limit its spread.
The administration’s coronavirus response appears to account for the president’s relatively low approval ratings during the spring and summer months.
President Trump (left) has seen his approval ratings return to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to one polling organization, though other surveys show him trailing Joe Biden (right) in the race for the presidency
The latest Rasmussen survey found that 52 per cent of Americans approve of the job the president is doing – the first time since February 27 that Rasmussen has given Trump a 52 per cent approval rating.
Rasmussen, which is considered a polling organization that is friendly to the president, gave Trump a 42 per cent approval rating and a 55 per cent disapproval rating on June 29 – an all-time low.
At the time, the coronavirus began to make an even larger footprint in the middle of the country, where states had to adopt mitigation measures that negatively impacted the economy.
The president’s all-time high approval rating – 53 per cent – was recorded about a year ago, according to Rasmussen.
Trump’s high water mark bests that of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who peaked at 52 per cent in January 2011, according to Rasmussen.
Rasmussen conducts telephone surveys of 500 likely voters every night. It then compiles three-day rolling averages.
According to Rasmussen, Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush, won re-election when they had 51 per cent approval ratings.
But other polling organizations believe that Trump’s approval rating is lower than what Rasmussen has found.
Trump is also believed to be on course to lose this November’s election to his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, the former vice president.
According to FiveThirtyEight, which factors in all available polling and then weighs them according to methodological standards and historical accuracy, Trump’s actual approval rating is 43.5 per cent while 52. 3 per cent of Americans disapprove.
FiveThirtyEight grades pollsters, including Rasmussen, by taking into account perceived biases and a record of accurately calling previous races. It gives Rasmussen a grade of C+.
Other polling organizations believe that Trump’s approval rating is lower than what Rasmussen has found. According to FiveThirtyEight, which factors in all available polling and then weighs them according to methodological standards and historical accuracy, Trump’s actual approval rating is 43.5 per cent while 52. 3 per cent of Americans disapprove
As for this November’s presidential election, FiveThirtyEight’s projections give Biden a 70 per cent chance, while Trump has just a 30 per cent chance to win a second term.
Trump on Thursday lashed out at Fox News over the right-leaning network’s new set of swing state polls, which showed the president losing to Biden.
On Wednesday, Fox News released a fresh batch of polls that had Biden leading in Arizona, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Trump has traveled to both Wisconsin and North Carolina this week.
‘Fox New polls are, as in the past, Fake News. They have been from the beginning, way off in 2016. Get a new pollster. I believe we are leading BIG!’ Trump tweeted Thursday.
The US, which has now surpassed 6.19 million infections, has been averaging about 41,000 new COVID-19 cases per day for the past week.
Cases are now plateauing following an initial sharp decline in late July after surges in Sunbelt states saw average daily rates of 66,000.
Infections spiked across the US following previous holidays, including Memorial Day and July 4.
Health experts are warning that behaviors this Labor Day weekend will determine if there will be a COVID-19 spike in the fall – as a new forecast model is predicting that more than 410,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 by January if people don’t continue to wear masks.
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation revised its forecast model on Friday to predict that deaths from COVID-19 will reach 410,000 by the end of the year.
That figure is more than double the current death toll of 187,750. The model predicts that deaths could also soar to 3,000 per day in December.