Trump's approval rating just hit its highest point in almost a year despite multiple scandals
- President Donald Trump's approval rating is at its highest point since it first began to fall early last year, according to CNN.
- The poll shows that while he personally enjoys relatively high approval rates, due in part to his handling of the economy, respondents generally are unsatisfied with his handling of foreign affairs, Russia, and excessive spending among his Cabinet secretaries.
- A huge majority of respondents stated that they believe the women accusing him of extramarital affairs.
President Donald Trump's approval rating has hit 42% according to a new CNN poll, his highest level since his rating started to slide early last year.
Trump's general approval has risen even amid a chaotic couple months in which he has shaken up his White House staff, come under increasing scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry of Russian meddling, and become embroiled in two scandals involving porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Trump's relatively high rating is only four points behind the rating of former Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan at this point in their presidencies, after having shot up from a low of 35% in December 2017 and February of this year. When broken down by political party, Trump's approval increased most among Republicans and independents, whose approval of his rose by 6% since last month.
But approval of Trump's policy positions has been less stellar - aside from generally favorable ratings on the economy, which sit at 48%, the people polled held mostly unfavorable views. The lowest approval rating policy wise was for his performance on foreign affairs, where only 39% of American approved of and 53% disapproved of his actions.
According to the CNN poll, about 47% of those surveyed said they thought Trump has been too soft on Russia, and that his handling of matters surrounding the Kremlin had been inadequate.
Amid Trump's twin sex scandals, most Americans polled, 63%, believe the women accusing Trump of extramarital affairs, while only 21% believe Trump.
The poll also asked respondents about their opinions on Trump's Cabinet. Around half of those polled said Trump's staff are less qualified than their predecessors, and 40% said they were more likely to misuse public money, compared to 33% who said they were less likely.
Trump's Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Scott Pruitt and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson have both come under fire recently for frivolous spending in their departments. While Pruitt reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive flights to and from Europe, Carson reportedly bought a dining set worth upwards of $30,000.