President Donald Trump is facing growing dissatisfaction over his handling of corruption, with a majority of Americans now disapproving of his performance on an issue that helped fuel his political rise.
Donald Trump is now a ‘member of the swamp’
CNN chief data correspondent Harry Enten highlighted recent polling showing 59 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of corruption, up sharply from 43 percent at the beginning of his second term.
“President Trump came into Washington with the promise of cleaning up the swamp,” Enten said. “Well, the American people say he is failing at doing so and increasingly so.”
“You obviously want that number to be south of 50 percent,” he said. “It was south of 50 percent at the beginning of Trump’s second term. Look at that: 43 percent. But now, up like a rocket. We’re talking nearly three in five Americans, 59 percent, disapprove of the job that Donald Trump is doing on corruption.”
Trump’s numbers are even worse among independents, with 64 percent disapproving of his performance on corruption.
“The American people are increasingly believing that Donald Trump is not the person to clean up the swamp. If anything, he is now a member of the swamp,” Enten continued. “His disapproval ratings on corruption, something he had promised coming into term No. 2 — not where you want to be. The majority of Americans think, in fact, they disapprove.”
The dip in polling
The polling also showed widespread concern about whether Trump’s business interests are influencing his decisions in the White House.
“A very not nice 69 percent of Americans overall say that Trump’s business interests influence his decisions as president,” Enten said. “Even 48 percent of Republicans … who have stuck with Trump through thick and thin, who thought that his business acumen, his business experience would be something that would actually help him keep him out of the swamp, now say — 48 percent say — his business interests actually influence his decisions as president.”
“When you get 69 percent overall and nearly half of your own Republican base saying that your business interests actually influence your decisions as president, no wonder your disapproval rating on corruption — up like a rocket, jumping up and down,” he concluded.
The poll found 51 percent of Americans consider the Trump administration more corrupt than other contemporary administrations.
