Most Republicans agree with President Donald Trump on the issues, according to a latest Pew Research poll, but most also have a mixed view of his conduct after seven months in office. According to Pew, 69% of Republicans say they agree with Mr. Trump on many (38%) or all/nearly all (31%) issues facing the country today. Only 30% of Republicans agree with the president on no/almost no (8%) or a few (22%) of the issues. But while most Republicans support the president’s priorities, they are less approving of the way he has conducted himself as president. Only 34% of Republicans say they “like the way Donald Trump conducts himself as president,” compared to 46% who “have mixed feelings about” and 19% who “don’t like” his conduct.
This cloud over the president’s performance may be why most Republicans believe Mr. Trump would benefit from “listening more” to those in his party with government experience. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans/Lean Republicans said they would prefer Mr. Trump “listen more to those in GOP with experience.” That includes 52% of self-described conservative Republicans and 70% of self-described moderate Republicans. Only 34% of Republicans say they prefer he “listen less” to experienced party leaders, including 40% of conservatives and 23% of moderates.
Republicans support the president on issues like tax reform and repealing ObamaCare, but are distracted by his tweets, outlandish statements and attacks on members of his own party. It would serve his agenda well to scale back some of this behavior and focus more on bringing the party together to put wins on the board before the Midterm Election.
