Donald Trump's polling reveals that he has finally stepped in it in a way that can't be forgiven, according to a man who served under three Republican presidents.
Peter Hermann Wehner, a former speechwriter for the administrations of three Republican U.S. presidents, published an article on Sunday called "The One Trump Flaw Most Americans Can’t Tolerate." In the piece, the writer argues, "Democrats should emphasize not that the president is corrupt or immoral, but that he is incompetent."
"Tens of millions of Americans voted for President Donald Trump in the belief that he would be competent. They might not have been thrilled that Trump is a convicted felon, or pleased with his role in the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many worried that he posed a threat to democracy. But enough were willing to overlook all that, because they convinced themselves that Trump would be an effective chief executive, that under his stewardship their lives would get better and the country would prosper," he wrote, pointing to a survey.
"A survey from the Democratic pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman, conducted shortly after the election, helps illustrate the point. By an 11-point margin, independents said they would be less confident that the Trump administration would share accurate information compared with the Biden administration. Yet, by a 10-point margin, those same voters said that they thought the Trump administration would be more effective at getting things done," the report states.
Now, according to Wehner, that has finally changed.
"A little more than half a year into Trump’s second term, however, the public’s confidence in his skill as a chief executive is shattering. In a recent AP/NORC poll, only about one-quarter of U.S. adults said that Trump’s policies have helped them. Roughly half report that Trump’s policies have 'done more to hurt' them, and about two in 10 say his policies have 'not made a difference' in their lives. Remarkably, Trump failed to earn majority approval on any of the issues in the poll, including the economy, immigration, and cutting government spending," he wrote. "As a result, a politically toxic impression is hardening. Trump’s approval rating in the most recent Gallup poll is 37 percent, the lowest of this term and only slightly higher than his all-time low of 34 percent, at the end of his first term. (Among independents, Trump’s approval rating is down to 29 percent.) Americans already understood Trump to be corrupt, and proved themselves willing to tolerate that. But now they are coming to believe that he is inept. In American politics, that is an unforgivable sin."
Wehner goes on to show how Trump's actions in the world of trade have contributed to this "toxic" impression of the president.