The latest Harvard/Harris poll was just released, and it reveals a modest bump in approval for President Trump’s immigration policies generally and for removing all aliens who are present in the United States illegally in particular. The electoral implications of the poll’s finding that a large majority of Democrats support “open borders”, however, have yet to be seen.
The poll was conducted between April 23 and 26 by The Harris Poll and Harris X for the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and surveyed 2,745 registered voters. The margin of error was +/- 1.87 percentage points — a key fact to keep in mind as you review the results.
Trump Approval Generally and On the Issues
Some 42 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s overall performance as president (25 percent “strongly”), while 53 percent disapproved (39 percent strongly).
That represents a modest, one-point decline in the Trump’s popularity compared to March polling, but on the “bright side” for the White House, that’s a two percentage-point drop in respondents who “strongly disapprove” of the job Trump is doing this month compared to last (41 percent “strong disapprove”).
In addition, with 46 percent approval among “likely midterm voters”, the president is holding serve compared to March polling in that key electoral demographic — albeit still underwater.
The president’s relatively poor showing is (almost definitely) directed related to voters’ dour view of his performance on certain key issues, such as “the economy” (39 percent approval, down one point from March), “handling inflation” (37 percent approval, ditto), and “reducing the cost of the government” (42 percent, down two points) — the latter likely linked to voters’ impressions of the price of the ongoing Iran war.
Trump (relatively) shines, however, when it comes to two “law-and-order” issues: “fighting crime in America’s cities” (48 percent approval) and “immigration” (47 percent approval).
The president’s approval is up one point compared to March on both of those subjects — well within the margin of error, but at least headed in the right direction for the incumbent.
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