Words Still Matter

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website August 23, 2017:

This blog tries to focus on what President Trump does rather than what he says. But in the wake of the Charlottesville demonstrations that left a protester dead at the hands of an alleged white supremacist, Donald Trump’s words have been his actions – and the polls are showing that most Americans feel his words have done more to divide the country than unite it.

In a CNN/Morning Consult Poll released this morning, President Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 39% – his lowest number yet. Notably shrinking are his numbers among Republicans where he lost 8 percentage points compared to the week before.

53% of voters surveyed feel that Trump did more to divide the country after Charlottesville. “Responding to national tragedies often provides presidents ground to rise above politics and demonstrate leadership,” according to Kyle Dropp chief research officer at Morning Consult. “In his remarks on Charlottesville, President Trump missed that opportunity to appeal to constituencies who don’t already side with him, according to our polling. A large majority of Democrats, 71 percent, found his reaction to be inappropriate. And just 16 percent of voters overall say that his response was unifying.”

The survey also included a standard question on the direction the country is headed. President Trump, along with Congressional Republicans, should take note that while 32% of voters in the survey feel that the country is headed in the right direction, a sizable majority of 68% feel the country is on the wrong track.

Last night at a rally in Phoenix, Donald Trump vilified the media, members of his own party, and demonstrators – who he still claims were partly responsible for the violence in Charlottesville. Despite a somber and seemingly presidential national address on Afghanistan Monday night, Trump took the stage on Tuesday and continued blaming, fighting, and dividing.