A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll provides Democrats a few welcome numbers, but it’s Republicans who end up getting what could end up being the most important takeaways: the voter enthusiasm gap has largely collapsed, President Trump has reached record-high approval among registered voters, and Republicans are trusted by a wider gap than ever over Democrats to handle the all-important issue of the economy.
Meanwhile, Trump’s approval is surging, tracking better in fact than President Obama’s at the same point in his presidency. His approval has jumped 3 points in a month to 47% among registered voters, with 49% disapproving. A month ago, 52% disapproved of his handling of the job. That 47% is Trump’s “highest rating as president in the NBC/WSJ poll.”
Another record-breaking number for the poll involves voters’ views of the economy. In what NBC notes is “their biggest lead on this question in the poll’s history,” Republicans now hold a 15-point advantage on the question of which party better handles the economy, which is consistently the most important issue to voters.
A total of 43% of registered voters told pollsters that Republicans handled the economy better, while just 28% said Democrats. The 15-point gap is a point up from the gap pollsters found in August. – READ MORE