It is difficult to take the American people’s pulse these days. The media for the most part is ripping into the new president at a pace usually reserved for national crisis. How is Donald Trump really doing after one month in the White House?
One poll in particular was conducted from February 11-13 by Harvard-Harris for The Hill. Any poll that bears the name of a liberal institution like Harvard should raise eyebrows about its credibility now. But the results were remarkable.
It indicated that a majority of Americans feel the economy is going strong. Furthermore, many believe the trend will continue under President Donald Trump. Sixty-one percent view the economy as strong, against 39 percent who say it is weak, while 42 percent think it’s on the right track, compared with 39 percent who disagree.
Breaking it down further, 60 percent of Republicans are satisfied with the economic trend, while 23 percent are dissatisfied; 33 percent of Democrats said the economy is on the right track, while 48 percent said it is headed in the wrong direction.
Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard-Harris poll, told The Hill, “It’s really a surprising turnaround given how negative voters have been about the economy since 2009. But jobs remain the number one issue and a lot of the change in sentiment anticipates tax cuts and infrastructure programs.”
Trump would be well-advised to concentrate more on the economy than the fairness of the media. His message of more and better jobs resonates with the electorate and brings his best numbers to the forefront.
The poll had some other interesting findings. Twenty-seven percent of Americans said their personal financial situation is improving, 25 percent said things are getting worse for them, and 38 percent said they’re doing the same. Thirty-four percent of Americans say the country as a whole is on the right track, 52 percent say things are headed in the wrong direction.
Look for Trump to change course in the next few days and weeks toward domestic issues. His first weeks being heavily involved in foreign affairs shows the issues are best handled by the professionals he has placed under his leadership.
The online survey questioned 2,148 registered voters.
