Donald Trump’s overall approval rating has risen to 45 per cent, the highest number reported by a national poll since mid-June.
The president’s numbers were in the doldrums for most of the summer as his Obamacare repeal plan foundered in Congress, his chaotic West Wing saw massive staff turnover and a trio of Russia-related investigations gathered steam.
But this latest showing, from a Morning Consult poll conducted for Politico, indicates that Trump’s dog days may be over.
Donald Trump’s job approval rating is back up to 45 per cent in a new poll
He captured 46.8 per cent of the popular vote last November, turning it into a surprising electoral College victory.
The new poll’s 2 percentage point margin of error opens the possibility that the commander-in-chief’s overall approval among registered voters is higher than the total that got him elected.
Voters are also optimistic about Trump’s tax reform proposal, with more of them approving than disapproving.
Forty-eight per cent of them who have heard about the tax plan said they support it, compared with 37 per cent who don’t.
But after pollsters read a list of the plan’s proposals, a far larger 59 per cent majority said they would support a bill in Congress to turn it into law.
Even so, voters are skeptical that a revamped federal tax code will benefit them personally.
The president’s tax-plan sales pitch seems to be working, since 59 per cent of voters say they like it – once pollsters rattle off a list of what it contains
Only 32 per cent of voters believe people like them will pay les in taxes if Trump’s plan becomes law. The same number say they would expect to pay more.
‘The general framework of the Republican tax overhaul is quite popular, though there is some confusion about its impact,’ said Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult’s co-founder and chief research officer.
Independent voters are split evenly on their opinion of the White House’s blueprint, but a 78-percent majority of Republicans like the plan. Among Democratic voters, 65 per cent disagree.
Majorities of 60 per cent or more across the board like Trump’s proposal to double the standard income tax deduction, slash the top small-business tax rate from 39.6 per cent down to 25, and raising the level of tax credits for Americans with children.
But just 39 per cent want corporate tax rates lowered from 35 per cent to 20.
Overall, 44 per cent of voters say the proposed tax code changes will be good for the U.S. economy. Just 24 per cent think it will be bad.