TRUMP APPROVAL UP IN ONE POLL – FROM MORNING CONSULT: 

More Americans approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as president and of the direction the country is headed, according to Morning Consult/POLITICO surveys conducted over the past six weeks.

The most recent poll, conducted March 9-13, found that 52 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, compared with a 49 percent approval rating shortly after Inauguration Day. This month’s survey found that 43 percent of respondents do not approve of the president’s job performance.

When asked about the direction of the country, 46 percent of Americans said they believe the country is on the right track, up 4 points since a late January poll and up 17 points since immediately after Election Day, when just 29 percent of voters felt the same way. Still, 54 percent of voters said the country is on the wrong track, 4 percentage points lower than immediately after Trump took office.

Despite several public controversies, the two measurements have remained relatively steady, and almost all of the movement has been in Trump’s direction among all voters.

Much of the gains track with positive economic indicators during his first few weeks in office, including a strong jobs report and stock market gains. The S&P 500 Index is up more than 100 points since Trump’s inauguration, and on Friday the White House took a victory lap after government figures showed a gain of 235,000 jobs during his first full month in office.

COMMENT:  We should point out that the Morning Consult poll contradicts most other polls, which show Trump's approval rating in negative territory.  But we don't know, of course, which polls are accurate. 

One thing we see over and over:  The key issue to the American peope is jobs.  That is Trump's specialty.  He can do other stuff, but he must be focused on jobs. 

March 16, 2017