Americans who disapprove of President Donald Trump are likely to do so not necessarily because of his policies, but because of his personality and character, a new poll says.
A Gallup poll released Thursday found 65% of those who disapprove of the President do so because of his characteristics and personality. About 16% disapprove of Trump because of his specific policies, and 12% disapprove of him for more broad reasons, the poll said.
Of the majority of disapprovers who identified his personality has a reason for their negative sentiments, 29% identified Trump as “not presidential,” “arrogant,” “obnoxious” and of a “bad temperament.” 10% said he was “inexperienced” and “doesn’t know what he is doing,” and 6% disapproved of his use of Twitter and social media.
On July 11, 40% of Americans approved of Trump’s performance, while 55% did not, according to Gallup’s most recent ratings. Last month, Trump’s disapproval ratings once again hit its all-time high of 59%.
The most recent findings contrast with the same ones Gallup measured for former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush during the first summers of their first terms in office. For Obama in 2009, 14% of his disapprovers cited his personality, while 65% identified his policies. And for Bush in 2001, 31% pointed to his characteristics, 17% cited his policies and 43% said it was for more broad reasons.
But for fans of the 45th president, Trump’s personality is not as much of an issue. About 24% of Trump fans pointed to his personality as a reason for their approval. 33% cited his policies, and 38% brought up his broad performance. Those are similar percentages Obama saw in 2009 from his supporters, according to Gallup.
Conducted from July 5-9, the latest poll surveyed 1,021 random American adults living in the U.S. The margin of error for the poll is 4%.
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