Poll:

Americans Pessimistic About Trump Presidency, US Direction

TEHRAN (defapress)- According to a new poll, a majority of Americans were widely pessimistic about US President Donald Trump’s leadership and the overall direction of the country, while less than a quarter said Trump kept the promises he made while running for president.

News ID: 67536

Date: 16 December 2017 - 12:49

Only 30 percent of Americans said the country is heading in the right direction, and 52 percent said the United States has been worse off since Trump became president, according to the survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Just 23 percent think Trump has kept the promises he made to voters during last year’s election campaign, the poll shows.

And three in 10 Americans approved of the president's handling of health care, foreign policy and taxes.

A previous AP-NORC poll conducted this month found that Trump's job approval rating was only 32 percent, making him the least popular first-year US president on record.

“Still, Trump continues to talk about his presidency with lofty rhetorical flourishes, declaring that his first months in office outshine those of his predecessors,” the AP said in its report on the survey.

“Among Republicans, just half say Trump has kept his promises, which included vows to overhaul his predecessor's health care law, withdraw the United States from a nuclear accord with Iran and invest millions in new projects to fix the nation's aging infrastructure. None of those steps have been taken,” it added.

Just 25 percent of Americans think the country has been better off since Trump took office, and only 20 percent say they personally are doing better.

By contrast, an AP-NORC poll conducted a year ago found that 46 percent of Americans thought the country had become better off during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

Only 9 percent think the country has become more united as a result of Trump's presidency, while 67 percent think the country is more divided because of Trump. Even Republicans are more likely to say Trump has divided America than those who say he has united it, 41 percent to 17 percent.