Texans Wildly Split on Trump’s Performance Thus Far

A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll highlights the huge perception gap in Trump’s presidential performance. Eighty-one percent of Texas Republicans approve of Donald Trump as president while 83 percent of Texas Democrats disapprove of him.

By Laura RiceFebruary 20, 2017 11:00 am,

New numbers from the Gallup Organization show approval ratings for the first month of the Trump presidency. Forty percent of those polled approve of the job Trump has been doing, 55 percent disapprove.

That’s the worst first month approval rating on record – but apparently there weren’t enough Texans in the survey pool. The Gallup numbers sure don’t square with what we’re learning today from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.

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Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey breaks down the survey of public sentiment among Texans.

On Approval of President Trump:

“Texas Republicans like the President a lot. The Democrats not so much. It’s like a flip, they’re like reciprocal parties… If you look at his overall numbers, Texans are split. Forty-six percent say they give him a good rating as president. Forty-four percent say they give him a bad rating as president.”

On Approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin:

“He’s not a very popular guy in Texas. Only 10 percent say they approve of him, 62 percent disapprove of Putin. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats disapprove of Putin, only 51 percent of Republicans. A big chunk of Republicans, 28 percent, more than a quarter are neutral on the President of Russia. And I think that’s just a reflection of Trump, it’s kind of a halo effect there with the Republican President, Putin seems to like him better than the Democrats so maybe Putin’s not so bad.”

On the Overall Direction of the Country:

“(Texans as a whole) are still more likely to say that the country is going in the wrong direction but much less so and Republicans think it’s going in the right direction now so you see the Trump halo, for now, going all the way through the numbers.”