Trump’s approval rating has now dipped to a new low for the third time in May, according to pollster Morning Consult. On May 4, 44 percent of voters approved of Trump, but the figure has fallen steadily, hitting 42 percent on May 12 and falling to 41 percent as of Friday, according to the polling firm’s data.
Trump has been unable to sustain any sort of positive momentum in recent weeks. Since May 9, when Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey, some ethics lawyers and lawmakers have accused him of obstructing justice. Far from being the widely embraced "bipartisan" move Trump apparently expected the firing to be, it instead may have precipitated the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate alleged links between Trump associates and Russian actors.
Mueller’s appointment "divides the country," Trump said.
Trump’s numbers have fallen since he flipped the script on why he fired Comey. After first saying he had "accepted" the Justice Department’s recommendation, fewer than 72 hours later he said he would have dismissed Comey "regardless of recommendation."
The polls may also reflect May’s ongoing spring shower of allegations of wrongdoing. Did Trump pressure Comey to shut down the FBI’s investigation into former NSA Michael Flynn? "No. No. next question." When asked, once again, about potential collusion between his campaign and Russia, he said, "As I’ve stated many times … there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity.” Did Trump’s remarks to the Russian envoy in the White House breach compromise the security of intelligence assets in the Middle East? "I was in the room; it didn’t happen," Trump’s head of national security, HR McMaster, said. Trump later conceded, however, that he has an "absolute right" to share "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety."
The president is taking little responsibility for the controversies. "I say this with great surety," Trump said in a commencement speech at the US Coast Guard Academy, "no politician in history … has been treated worse or more unfairly" than me.
