By Ivan Pentchoukov
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has remained high despite a media frenzy surrounding the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and subsequent efforts by top Democrats to impeach him, according to a Rasmussen poll published on Jan. 11.
The poll shows that 48 percent of likely voters approve of Trump’s job performance and 51 percent disapprove. President Barack Obama’s approval rating during the same time in his presidency was 4 percent higher, according to the pollster.
Trump’s approval rating was lower in April, June, and July this year amid the pandemic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. Outside those dips, the rating has largely remained in the mid to high 40s with peaks to 53 percent approval on April 9 and Sept. 24.
Rasmussen is the only national pollster tracking the presidential approval rating on a daily basis. It came the closest among major polls to predicting a Trump victory in 2016.
The president’s approval rating has remained steady since Jan. 6 despite an onslaught of rhetoric from left-wing pundits, liberal media, and Democrats in Washington alleging that he incited the rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol building.
The president was giving a speech to a massive crowd of supporters gathered in the area between the George Washington monument and the Ellipse at the same time the Capitol, which is about a 30-45 minute walking distance away, was breached. In his speech, the president told supporters to march to the Capitol and cheer for the lawmakers convened there to vet and certify the Electoral College votes.
“I think we’re going to walk down to the Capitol and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them,” Trump said.
“Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The Democrats introduced one article of impeachment against Trump on Jan. 11. The resolution cited another line from his speech where Trump said, ‘‘if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The resolution left out the preceding sentence in which Trump indicated that it is his team that is fighting “like hell.”
“We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” the president said. “Our exciting adventures and boldest endeavors have not yet begun. My fellow Americans, for our movement, for our children, and for our beloved country, and I say this despite all that’s happened, the best is yet to come.
An average of polls maintained by Real Clear Politics shows a clear dip in Trump’s approval rating following Jan. 6.
