New Trump Approval Rating Poll Finds Americans Want White House Chaos To End After Midterms

It’s been another week of chaos and upheaval for the Trump White House, and a new poll finds that Americans are tired of it. USA Today reports that Americans are dissatisfied with the chaos rampant within the ranks of the current leadership in both the executive and legislative branches. Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to suffer, but so do the approval ratings for Republicans in Congress. This new poll finds that Americans queried want a new Congress that will confront the president and nip it all in the bud.

Trump senior adviser Hope Hicks resigned this week. Rumors swirled that Attorney General Jeff Sessions would be fired or resign. Many damaging stories regarding the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have emerged that hint he may be a subject of special counsel’s Trump Russia probe.

And Trump, well, he took to Twitter.

American voters are angry, and even Trump voters are angry. They want it to stop.

The new USA Today/Suffolk University poll finds that voters want members of Congress, of either party, to stand up to the president and not simply cooperate with him. Eight in ten Democrats say that the country is on the wrong track, and seven in 10 independents agree. If the midterms were to happen today, and the results were aligned with this recent poll, Americans would vote more Democrats into Congress by a 47 percent to 32 percent margin.

That’s a fifteen-point difference. But Republicans in Congress are not the only ones in trouble. As Trump’s approval ratings decline, even some of his own voters are saying he also is at risk for losing his job.

The chaos in the White House, and coming out of the Trump Twitter timeline, are reasons that Americans are getting tired of both the legislative and executive branches. Party does not appear to be a deciding factor, as even Democrats that voted for Donald Trump are unhappy with the constant chaos.

One Trump voter recently tweeted to the president that he is “disappointed” with this Twitter time, and told the president to stop being cynical and petty. Another Trump voter, a Democrat, begged the president for more work on prescription drug costs.

Mr. Trump, please, enough with these petty tweets. I voted for you but I am so disappointed with how you spend your time. Be Presidential rather that cynical and petty.

— John Tremble (@TrembleJohn) February 26, 2018

@realDonaldTrump I’m disabled and a Democrat but I voted for you in 2016 because you claimed to be for “the middle class”. I work full time because I literally cannot afford not too. PLEASE do something about the cost of prescription drugs!!??

— JoeBiden2020 (@Fan4Pats) February 26, 2018

The issue of the second amendment appears to also be a point of concern for many Trump voters. Some are telling the president that taking semi-automatic guns out of reach for Americans will “start a revolution.”

The constant chaos is not just putting Trump’s political future at risk, it is also putting the Republican party at risk. With a 15-point gap between parties on who Americans would vote for today, Republicans are in trouble, at least in the House of Representatives.

Further, they don’t appear to be taking the steps necessary to alleviate the concerns of Americans. Chaos is not just rampant at the White House, it’s also rampant on Capitol Hill. One voter told pollsters this week she was worried about a lot of things, including that she feels Trump is taking actions to support white supremacy.

“I’m concerned about a lot more than my 401 (k) here. It seems like every action he takes is to benefit large corporations or white men and white supremacy. I’m nervous for my kids’ safety in school. I’m nervous for my neighbors’ safety. I’m concerned about the safety and well-being of everyone in our country.”

Congress is not speaking out on actions Donald Trump takes that lead voters to these concerns. That could mean unemployment for them after midterms.

When it is time for midterms later this year, Democrats will need to flip 24 seats, which is attainable if these recent poll numbers accurately reflect the sentiment of American voters today. David Wasserman, an analyst for the Cook Political Report, says a 15-point gap between parties means “that’s a Democratic House, without a doubt.”

The Senate is a different story, with 26 Democratic seats on the ticket and only eight Republican seats. But it is not unattainable.

Americans polled this week want to see Congress doing more things to stand up to the president. They want a Congress that will schedule hearings properly, stay on top of the current investigations in Congress, and issue subpoenas. The current Congress is not doing much of that, with some Republicans even hinting the Russia probe in Congress may be drawing to a close.

That is not what Americans want, at least according to this new poll. Not only are Americans unhappy with Donald Trump, but 75 percent polled across both parties say they disapprove of the current Congress.

Trump’s approval rating is dismal with Gallup, at 39 percent approval today, with 56 percent disapproving. But Congressional Republicans have an even worse approval rating than Donald Trump, with a 27 percent favorable approval in this recent poll. Sixty percent disapprove of the current Congress.

News this week out of the White House and hearings in Congress may not help Republican approval ratings. Former Communications Director for the White House, Hope Hicks, testified in Congress last week and resigned from the White House this week. Washington Post reports it was leaked that during her testimony to Congress, Hope Hicks refused to answer some questions as if she was able to invoke executive privilege or plead the fifth amendment.

This is a privilege that only the president himself can invoke in a congressional hearing. Hope Hicks did anyway. Nobody has said or done anything about that.

This is just one example of the lack of action in Congress that many Americans have a very big problem with.

Hope Hicks refused to answer any questions related to matters that occurred after Donald Trump was sworn into office. The Washington Post noted the following on the subject.

“A self-respecting legislative branch would not allow executive-branch witnesses to so easily evade basic questioning, particularly when it concerns matters as important as the Russia investigation.”

A former Trump strategist was reportedly equally uncooperative in his testimony to Congress. Congress has done nothing about that either. The new USA Today poll reveals that Americans want their representatives to hold people accountable for such acts.

Hope Hicks was also reportedly an ally of Jared Kushner in the White House, reports the Hill. Her departure may not be well favored by Jared Kushner, who is now in the center of some of the White House chaos.

This week, Jared Kushner’s security clearance was downgraded, and many questions remain about how honest he was about foreign connections on his security clearance application. Further, NBC News reported this week that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether or not any executive branch policy was driven by business connections held by Jared Kushner.

MSNBC reported that if what Robert Mueller is investigating on Jared Kushner is true, it could “form the basis of criminal charges.” Watch that report here.

All of these matters are having an impact on Trump’s approval rating. As such it will remain difficult for him to get things done until these matters are resolved. If these recent poll numbers accurately reflect American sentiment at the voter box, shutting down the Russia probe in Congress is not going to be good for Donald Trump. Nor would it favor House Republicans who have lower approval ratings than Donald Trump.