American voters think the economy is booming because, by our most accepted metric, it is! Still, voters may be starting to realize that record-breaking stock market numbers don’t necessarily translate to a happy citizenry, or a more just society.
According to a new poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, two-thirds of American voters are satisfied with the state of the economy, while seven in 10 registered voters believe the economy has improved since Donald Trump took office.
But satisfaction with the economy hasn’t translated to support for Trump and the rest of the Republican Party, no matter how much Trump has crowed about jobs growth (emphasis mine):
Despite the uptick in Trump’s approval, and his robust 84 percent support among Republicans, the president remains a heavy general election burden for GOP candidates. By 53 percent to 31 percent, voters say they’d be less likely to support a lawmaker who votes with Trump down the line.
By 48 percent to 23 percent, they’d warm to a candidate promising to provide a check on Trump’s presidency. Support for Trump’s border and tax priorities, the poll shows, would hurt a candidate more than it would help in November.
Another interesting data point in this poll suggests guns are a motivating factor for people to vote—and not in the way you might think.
Voters citing the importance of guns – traditionally a source of GOP enthusiasm, favor Democrats for Congress by 58 percent to 33 percent. Those citing immigration favor Republicans by just five points, 49 percent to 44 percent.
One persistent challenge for Democrats remains motivating the young voters who favor them to show up on Election Day. The share of voters 50 and older expressing high interest in the election (67 percent) more than doubles the share of those aged 18 to 34 (30 percent).
Many voters are (understandably) fed up with the country’s inaction on gun control, and are revved up at the possibility of kicking Trump’s supporters out of office. As of Trump’s 500th day in office, his job approval rating stands at 41%, while his job approval among Republicans stands at 87%—the second-highest “own-party” job approval rating of any president since World War II, according to Gallup.
This graph gives a good picture of the alternate reality most Republicans subscribe to today, where the president is widely beloved and everything is fine.
Who’s living in a bubble, again?