No president in modern history has lost ground in the polls as quickly as 45th President Donald J. Trump, the Los Angeles Times notes.
In an op-ed published Sunday, columnist Doyle McManus points out that Trump's approval numbers had sunk from 45 percent to 34 percent in the short time he has been president, according to the Gallup organization. And while other polls may look marginally better for Trump, they all show a trend that must have the White House worried.
"The president’s disapproval rating, the share of Americans who think he’s doing a bad job, rose above 50% faster than any of his predecessors," McManus writes. "He has created, almost single-handed, an unusually passionate opposition: One poll found that almost twice as many voters 'strongly disapproved' of his job performance as said they 'strongly approved.'"
According to McManus, Trump's most fervent supporters haven't started to break away yet. But Trump is losing the so-called "soft" supporters at an alarming rate.
"Politics is about addition, not subtraction, an ancient campaign adage holds," McManus concludes. "Trump’s own polls show that he hasn’t learned that lesson. Or, at least, hasn’t learned how to put it into practice."
