Trump Popular with Supporters, But Others Oppose Him

 

Republican Party activists¹ and Republican voters mostly approve of Donald Trump²’s first actions as president of the United States.

But the new president has low approval ratings among Democratic Party supporters and independent voters.

After a month in office, Trump, a Republican, leads a nation that remains⁴ divided on many issues after a divisive election. He defeated Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president, in November. He replaced Barack Obama, another Democrat³, as president on January 20.

Trump’s supporters say he is doing what they hoped he would when they voted for him. But others, mainly Democrats⁵ and independents, disapprove⁶ of the immigration and environmental policies his supporters praise.

Trump may have his best chance of his early presidency⁷ to appeal to people other than his supporters when he speaks to Congress on Tuesday.

Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, said the president will talk about his busy and productive start of his presidency. But Spicer said he will also talk about his efforts “to be a president that brings people together, that unites them.”

Public approval ratings for the president range from 38 percent to 52 percent, based on recent opinion surveys. The average ratings show 44 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing and 50 percent disapprove, according to RealClearPolitics.com

Trump has had a busy first month as president.

He has launched a new effort to remove undocumented immigrants from the United States. He ordered a travel ban aimed at people from seven Muslim majority nations.

Trump is moving to reduce federal rules of the environment and banking⁸ industry. He also wants to repeal⁹ and replace a national health care program, known as Obamacare.

The travel ban is now on a court-ordered hold. And efforts to repeal Obamacare have been slowed by disputes among Republicans on how to replace it and growing support for the health law, according to recent polls.

Still active on social media

Trump has been active on Twitter, attacking news stories critical of his administration and those protesting his policies.

On Twitter, Trump called some media organizations the “enemy of the American People.” He said “classified information” is being given to the news media “like candy.” He also tweeted that if there is a terrorist attack on America, the blame goes to the judge who suspended enforcement of his travel ban.

John Feehery is a Republican political adviser¹⁰. He said that Trump’s strongest supporters during the 2016 election campaign are very happy with what he is doing. “He has basically been taking the status quo and throwing it on the ground and smashing it up,” Feehery said.

But there are danger signs, with record low approval ratings so early in his presidency.

While Feehery said it is good that Trump enjoys strong support from his political base, he needs to expand that support.

“He’s got to figure out, ‘OK, how do I do things that make the rest of the country comfortable in my leadership,’” Feehery said.

Doing what he promised

Gene¹¹ Humber is a Trump supporter. He was called on to speak during a recent Trump event in Florida.

“When President Trump during the election promised all these things that he was going to do for us, I knew he was going to do this for us,” Humber said.

John Bonifaz is president of a group called Free Speech for People. He recently gave a petition to Maryland Congressman¹² Jamie Raskin, a Democrat. The document called on Congress to remove Trump from office.

Bonifaz said the president is not following the rule of law or the U.S. Constitution.

With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, removal efforts appear unlikely to succeed. But Democrats say more people are coming forward to compete as candidates against Republican office holders¹³.

Some political experts suggest Democrats are following the example of opponents of President Obama.

Conservative Americans formed what was known as the Tea Party in 2009, the first year of the Obama presidency. They showed up at meetings with congressional members to demand that they oppose the Democratic president.

Trump is expected to discuss his early actions as president when he speaks to Congress. He talked a little about his speech Friday during a visit to the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Trump said he is removing undocumented immigrants who carried out crimes. He also said he is ending rules against coal use, and approving a long-delayed oil pipeline¹⁴ to help expand the American economy.

”Basically, all I’ve done is kept my promise,” Trump said.

Words in This Story

range - n. a series of numbers that includes the highest and lowest possible amounts

poll - n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

repeal - v. to make a law no longer valid¹⁵

candy – n. a sweet treat

status quo - n. keep things the same

smash - v. to break something into many pieces

base - n. strongest supporters

basically - adv. what sometimes comes down to in its simplest form

classified – adj. of or related to something kept secret, often for reasons of national security

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

9 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

13 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

14 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

15 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？