Following the 35-day government shutdown wherein over 800,000 federal employees missed a month’s worth of paychecks, nine government agencies were shut, and President Donald Trump walked away with nothing in hand, the animus towards the workings of the government by Americans has reached new heights. Nearly 70 percent of people believe the nation is heading down the “wrong track,” with many claiming in a newly-released poll feelings of “turmoil,” “disarray,” and a state of “shambles” for the United States of America.
The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll was conducted between January 20 and 23 – before the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history – with 900 adults.
Only 28 percent of Americans say the nation is headed in the right direction, the lowest percentage during Trump’s presidency. On the other hand, 63 percent of respondents believe the country is on the wrong track, the highest mark since the president took office in January 2017. Moreover, 68 percent of those polled responded to the questions asked with “negative answers,” including “disaster,” “divided” and “downhill,” and just 17 percent provided a positive word or phrase.
As for the public opinion of the commander in chief, 43 percent of Americans approve of his job (29 percent strongly approve), versus 54 percent who disapprove (47 percent strongly disapprove).
Nevertheless, while Trump, the top Republican in power, has less than stellar favor with Americans, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in power, has far less favor.
Speaker Pelosi garnered just 11 percent of a “very positive” response and 17 percent of a “somewhat positive” response in the poll, tracking less favorably than the Democratic Party itself.
The partial government shutdown, which had much to do with people’s negative responses in the poll, ended last Friday – January 25 – after President Trump signed a three-week funding measure set to expire on February 15. The president accepted the plan from Democrats for $1.3 billion in border security funding, none of which will be allocated to the proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, but will be used to fortify existing fencing and bolster other facets of border security like more personnel on the southern border.
Trump added in his Rose Garden speech on Friday that a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers from both the House and Senate will meet to develop a border security funding proposal for the Department of Homeland Security in the next three weeks. However, the president has reiterated that if his $5.7 billion request for wall funding is not met on February 15, either the government will shutter once more, or he will use his “emergency powers” to construct his campaign promise.