Trump Surges in Polls During First Foreign Trip

Trumps-Saudi Arabia Jonathan ErnstReuters
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

President Donald Trump is apparently receiving high marks for his foreign diplomacy. Rasmussen shows an upswing in the president’s approval ratings as he travels to various hot spots around the globe to advance his foreign policy goals.

Rasmussen reports the president’s approval numbers rising to 48 percent from a recent low of 43, with disapproval at 52 percent, down from 57. The poll canvasses 500 likely voters per night for a three-day rolling average, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.

The president is currently on a five-nation trip abroad. While one location, Sicily, is part of another, Italy, despite the fact that Sicily is autonomous, the Vatican is a sovereign nation-state, and thus counts separately from Italy.

He first met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with leaders of roughly 50 Islamic nations.

Trump later traveled to Israel, becoming the first sitting president to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the ancient part of the Temple Mount closest to where the Jewish temple once stood in the time of Jesus. He also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian leadership.

The president’s final three stops are in Europe. Trump began with a visit to Rome, meeting with the Italian prime minister, and also receiving an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican. He then traveled to Belgium to meet with NATO leaders in Brussels. Finally, the president will meet with G7 leaders in Sicily.

Although the president’s critics seemed to doubt beforehand that Trump’s ambitious trip would be anything other than an escape from the grind of Washington, their silence now may indicate that they acknowledge the 45th president’s first foreign trip is showcasing an impressive performance.

While polls taken before his multinational tour showed the president’s polls numbers dropping several points in the wake of news developments cast in a negative light by many establishment media outlets, Rasmussen may be the first daily tracker to reflect the positive news emerging from Trump’s meetings and summits, in which the American president looks commanding, decisive, gracious, and very much belonging on the world stage alongside other leaders, many of whom are praising him and looking for U.S. support.

Polls capturing the American public’s reaction to the full trip will not be available until early next week.

Ken Klukowski is senior legal editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski.

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