President Donald Trump has endured a week of bad headlines, but his popularity among voters has actually increased, though he remains more disliked than liked, according to CNN.
CNN compared polls taken before the election and ones taken in 2018, and found that Trump's net favorability has increased since his election in their own poll and ones from Suffolk University, Fox News, and others.
- CNN: 8 percentage point increase.
- Suffolk University: 5 percentage point increase.
- Fox News: 14 percentage point increase.
- Marist College: percentage point increase.
- NBC/WSJ: 6 percentage point increase.
- Quinnipiac University: 2 percentage point increase.
- For an average 8 percentage point increase.
Despite this gain, Trump's average net favorability rating was -27 percentage points.
"It shouldn't be too surprising that Trump hasn't lost much ground since before he was elected," CNN analyst Harry Enten noted.
"His popularity was already basically only the Republican base, so there wasn't a lot of ground to lose. And voters knew of Trump's many flaws before the election, so why would they turn they backs on him now?
He added, "But there is difference between not losing supporters and actually picking some up. It's not unusual for that to occur when a presidential candidate wins and assumes office, but it's far from a given more than a year into an administration. Especially for a president whose administration is as chaotic as Trump's."
Enten compared Trump's rating to previous presidents, looking at polls taken before their election and a year into their terms. He found that while Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama lost support initially, they did not drop into negative ratings.
Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush all gained support after their first year, and maintained positive favorability ratings. Enten notes that "the average before Trump saw a rise of about 11 points, or very close to what Trump has seen."