Survey: Trump Popularity Ticks Up

According to a new poll from Morning Consult and Politico, President Donald Trump got a favorability bump following his inauguration, with 49% of respondents saying they viewed him favorably, compared to 46% just before the inauguration and speech.

He still gets an unfavorable rating of 44% but that is down from 48% before.

That was one of the biggest spikes in his favorability rating since the election and came despite some harsh criticism of the speech by his opponents and some media outlets, which the President frequently argues equates to the same thing.

In a story about the poll, Morning Consult said the survey indicated his "America first" agenda and focus on jobs was striking a chord.

In his speech, Trump said: “From this moment on, it’s going to be America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.”

The survey found that 65% viewed that positively, including half of Democrats and 64% of independents.

The appeal was particularly strong with blue-collar workers, with 74% reacting positively.

About half of the respondents (49%) said the speech was either excellent or good, and about half (51%) said it was optimistic in tone.

The poll was of 1,992 voters from Jan. 20-22. It has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.