Americans largely don't trust the things President Donald Trump says, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this week. And amid an ongoing controversy over his administration's ties to Russia as well as a fight over his health care bill, Trump's approval rating has taken a dip even further into the cellar.
Just 37 percent of U.S. voters approve of the job the president's done thus far, while a majority—56 percent—disapprove, Quinnipiac found.
The Republican president is losing support from demographic groups that were his base in his stunning victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Among Republicans, Trump's approval fell from 91 percent in a Quinnipiac earlier this month to just 81 percent this week. Men and white voters slightly disapproved of the job Trump has down, compared with slight approval earlier this month. Fifty-two percent of men disapproved of his job performance as did 50 percent of white voters, Quinnipiac found.
Sixty percent of voters, meanwhile, felt Trump was not honest. That represented an increase of five percentage points from earlier this month. Seventy-three percent of voters thought the president and his administration make statements without evidence "very often" or "somewhat often."
"Although taking a beating, he keeps on tweeting to the point where even his fiercely loyal base appears to be eroding," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, in a statement. "Most alarming for President Donald Trump, the demographic underpinnings of his support, Republicans, white voters, especially men and those without a college degree, are starting to have doubts."
Trump has proven unwilling to back away from unsubstantiated claims he has made, most notably his assertion that former President Barack Obama tapped the wires of his New York City tower.
Trump's also embroiled in a battle to get an Obamacare replacement through Congress. He has backed the American Health Care Act—dubbed "Trumpcare" by some—which is scheduled to face a key vote in the House Thursday, amid widespread criticism and uncertainty over whether it has the votes to pass.
All of this comes amid continued questions over the Trump administration's connections to Russia. The FBI is in the midst of an investigation into the matter, while it was reported Wednesday that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort once worked with a Russian oligarch to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The intelligence community has already assessed that the Kremlin worked to get Trump elected through hacks and an influence campaign.
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