Despite fervent condemnations of President Trump’s Helsinki summit performance, two polls show that the President isn’t suffering politically as a result.
A poll released by Gallup last week revealed that Americans don’t care about Russia. When asked an open-ended question about what is the most important non-economic problem facing the country, no respondents said “the situation with Russia.”
The Gallup poll was based on telephone interviews with 1,033 American adults. The two most important non-economic problems for Americans were immigration and poor government leadership.
The Russian situation has not polled as the most important issue with more than one per cent of respondents since Gallup started asking the open-ended question in January.
The summit occurred after the Gallup polling, but a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released Sunday should also calm Trump’s fears.
Trump received his highest job approval rating in the poll, 45 per cent. The survey was taken in the four-day period after Trump’s news conference with Vladimir Putin.
The poll showed 88 per cent of Republican voters back Trump.
The Wall Street Journal noted: “Of the four previous White House occupants, only George W. Bush, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had a higher approval rating within his own party at the same point in his presidency.”