To put it nicely, Trump is a master of spin. To put it accurately, the 45th president of the United States lies like it’s nobody’s business. Nearly 100 days into his presidency, it appears more Americans are catching on.
According to a new Gallup poll released Monday morning, fewer people are buying Trump’s distorted version of reality. In February, 62 percent of those polled believed Trump would keep his campaign promises. Compare that to the 45 percent who currently think Trump will stay true to his word, and it seems he’s losing his constituents’ trust at a startling rate. Break the results down by gender, and you’ll find the number of women who no longer expect Trump to keep his promises have dropped by 25 percentage points, while among men, trust has dropped by 8 percent.
Gallup based its results on phone interviews of 1,019 randomly selected adults aged 18 and up who live in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C. A 4 percent margin of error makes some of the poll’s findings statistically insignificant. For instance, 3 percent fewer participants believe Trump “can manage the government effectively,” while 4 percent fewer believe he “cares about the needs of people like you.” To be clear, the percentages of those who agreed with those statements were already low at 44 and 46 percent, respectively.
A 17 percentage point slip, on the other hand, speaks volumes about Trump’s actions breeding distrust among Americans. You don’t have to look far to see why. In failing to produce a remotely logical repeal and replace plan for the Affordable Care Act, Trump threatened the well-being of millions, clearly going against his campaign promise to provide “insurance for everybody” and to protect Medicaid. His tax reform plans are looking similarly bleak, with conservatives battling over particulars. The travel ban did little to improve safety, while doing much to terrify and devastate everyday citizens, and unemployment rates have barely budged. Amidst the rocky political climate in which we now find ourselves, at least this poll proves we’re getting closer to making facts great again.
