A new opinion poll shows that US President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped by six points as Americans voice concerns about their country’s economy.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll, published on Tuesday, found that Trump’s job approval rating fell to 38 percent after July’s 44 percent approval.
According to the poll, Trump has slipped by 5 percentage points, specifically on his handling of the economy, from 51 percent approval in midsummer to 46 percent now.
The survey revealed that 60 percent of Americans believed a recession was “likely” next year due to the impact of Trump's economic policies and 60 percent were also more concerned the US-China trade war would raise prices.
Among those who believe a recession is likely, Trump’s approval rating stands at just 20 percent, according to the poll.
Moreover, the poll showed that Trump’s 56-percent average rating since taking office remained the lowest on record for any modern president at a comparable point in his term.
Trump dismissed the results of the Tuesday survey in a tweet that hit at ABC and the Post, and he claimed his lawyers were able to force changes in past polls.
“ABC/Washington Post Poll was the worst and most inaccurate poll of any taken prior to the 2016 Election,” he wrote. “When my lawyers protested, they took a 12 point down and brought it to almost even by Election Day. It was a Fake Poll by two very bad and dangerous media outlets. Sad!”
ABC/Washington Post Poll was the worst and most inaccurate poll of any taken prior to the 2016 Election. When my lawyers protested, they took a 12 point down and brought it to almost even by Election Day. It was a Fake Poll by two very bad and dangerous media outlets. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
Later in the day, Trump sent another tweet railing against public polling and extolling his campaign's surveys.
“One of the greatest and most powerful weapons used by the Fake and Corrupt News Media is the phony Polling Information they put out,” he wrote. “Many of these polls are fixed, or worked in such a way that a certain candidate will look good or bad. Internal polling looks great, the best ever!”
The ABC News/Washington Post poll surveyed 1,003 US adults via telephone between September 2 and 5 with a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.