THE PRESIDENT HOLDS – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  Despite the thumping he's taking in the press, the president's numbers are holding up, but there are warning signs.  From The Hill:

President Trump's public support appears to be holding steady despite the partial government shutdown dragging on amid a stalemate over his demand for border wall funding.

In a poll released Friday by The Hill and HarrisX, the president's job approval rating stands at 47 percent, down 1 point from the previous survey Dec. 7-8 and within both studies' 3.1 percent margin of error.

Trump's approval rating in the Hill-HarrisX polls has been relatively steady since September, remaining between 45 percent and 48 percent.

"Despite a couple of polls being a little bit outside or perhaps a little bit of outliers, we've seen the president's approval rating generally consistent and in the low- to mid-forties," Mallory Newall, research director at Ipsos Public Affairs, said Friday during a panel discussion featured on Hill.TV's "What America's Thinking."

While Trump's numbers have stayed relatively steady during his presidency, he has consistently received more very negative assessments in surveys than very positive ones.

That dynamic is a "warning sign," Republican pollster Ed Goeas said in the discussion Friday.

"There's real intensity on the strong negatives versus the strong positives. That is not a good sign for the president in terms of going forward."

It may be particularly difficult for Trump, Goeas argued, as he was able to win in 2016 despite being unpopular because his former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton was "equally disliked."

COMMENT:  That's true, about Madam Hillary.  But it could also be true about the Democratic candidate in 2020.  The batch of "mentionables" doesn't contain too many lovable types.  Kamala Harris has a personality even a mother would balk at.  Ditto Cory Booker.  Biden is likable, but may forget that there's an election.  Bernie Sanders gets good numbers, but wait 'til voters learn what he really believes. 

At the same time, we don't know who might emerge in 2019.   Beto O'Rourke has now gotten the attention of the Great Mentioner.  He's very likable, quite charming, and a complete empty suit, or pair of jeans, or whatever he's wearing.

December 29, 2018