39% approve of Pres. Trump, lowest rating for any president at eight months in office dating back 71 years

 President Donald Trump faces deep challenges on international and domestic issues alike, with a job approval rating mired in historic lows, a broad sense he’s done more to divide than uniting the country and a high level of public distrust that he’ll act responsibly in dealing with North Korea.

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Approval ratings

Eight months in, 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office overall, while 57 percent disapprove. Both precisely match his average ratings in four ABC News/Washington Post polls since he took office. His approval rating remains the lowest for any president at this point in polls dating back to Harry S. Truman’s presidency.

Strong critics of Trump, moreover, far outnumber strong supporters, by 48 percent vs. 26 percent in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates. That 22-point gap is the same as Obama’s career worst. But the average edge in negative intensity throughout Obama’s two terms was just 6 points. It’s averaged 21 points to date for Trump.

There is differentiation in Trump’s approval ratings on individual issues. On immigration, just 35 percent approve, and 62 percent disapprove. On the economy, his approval advances to 43 percent, with 49 percent disapproving. And his ratings turn positive when it comes to handling the recent hurricanes that struck the United States: Fifty-six percent approve, 31 percent not.

Hurricane response ratings are a notable bright spot not just for Trump but for the federal government more broadly. It gets a 70-24 percent positive rating for its hurricane response, a result that suggests lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. About two weeks after Katrina hit, just 38 percent of Americans approved of the federal response, and 62 percent disapproved.

That said, positive views of the federal response were somewhat higher, 78 percent (among likely voters), immediately after superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast coast in 2012. And negative views are 19 points higher now than after Sandy, with fewer unsure.

Regardless, the hurricane response ratings are a clear positive for Trump and the government. So, too, is response to the Trump/Democratic agreement to fund disaster relief while also raising the limit on the national debt. Sixty-five percent support it, on an unusually bipartisan level -- including 77 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of independents.

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