Divided states of America: 62% say Trump is driving people apart, poll finds

Source: Guardian News


Quinnipiac University poll finds president has negative 35%-59% overall approval rating as he tweets picture of himself replacing Obama in ‘eclipse’

David Smith in Washington
@smithinamerica
Thursday 24 August 2017 11.00 EDT

Donald Trump’s divided states of America have been laid bare by a new survey and a fresh volley of tweets in which the president attacked fellow Republicans and depicted himself replacing Barack Obama in a “solar eclipse”.

The president is doing more to fuel divisions, according to 62% of voters, compared with 31% who say he is doing more to bring the country together, his worst score thus far on this question, a national poll by Quinnipiac University found.

The polarisation was vividly illustrated by an open-ended question. When 1,514 voters were asked for the first word that came to mind when they thought of Trump, 64 said “strong” and 59 said “idiot”. Another 58 said “incompetent”, 50 said “liar” and 49 said “president”.

Trump delivered another polarising speech to his base in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, berating the “damned dishonest” news media, criticising local Republican senators and threatening Democrats with a government shutdown over funding for his controversial border wall.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/24/trump-approval-rating-division-poll