Support for Trump is fading among active-duty troops, new poll shows

Support for Trump is fading among active-duty troops, new poll shows

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years, leaving today’s troops evenly split over whether they’re happy with the commander in chief’s job performance, according to the results of a new Military Times poll of active-duty service members.

About 44 percent of troops had a favorable view of Trump’s presidency, the poll showed, compared to 43 percent who disapproved.

The results from the survey, conducted over the course of September and October, suggest a gradual decline in troops’ support of Trump since he was elected in fall 2016, when a similar Military Times poll showed that 46 percent of troops approved of Trump compared to 37 percent who disapproved. That nine-point margin of support now appears gone.

During that same period, the number of neutral respondents has dwindled from almost 17 percent to about 13 percent, suggesting political polarization inside the military community has intensified in recent years.


Still, the latest survey shows that military service members are more supportive of the president than the American public at large, which, according to the most recent Gallup poll, approves of Trump at a rate of 43 percent compared to the 53 percent who disapprove.

“The general rule of thumb with the military is that it moves along with public opinion but lags conservative,” said Peter Feaver, a former adviser to former President George W. Bush who is now a political science professor at Duke University and an author of several books on military culture.

“In this case, we’re seeing military members shifting along with the public, but still staying a little more pro-Trump than the rest of the country.”

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“The general rule of thumb with the military is that it moves along with public opinion but lags conservative,” said Peter Feaver, a former adviser to former President George W. Bush who is now a political science professor at Duke University and an author of several books on military culture.

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Trump said:

"He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."

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JacksinPA said:

Beto for President.

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markjs said:

Because of stuff like this, and stupid military parades, and the fact he hasn't visited the troops anywhere, skips cemetary visits over rain, and general ineptitude, he has even lost the military to a large degree!



I keep hearing the hard alt-righties around here telling us how Trump is gonna be re-elected. Not with support like this. Maybe if the Democrats ran Hillary again, but probably at this point he couldn't even beat her, and you're folling yourselves if you think he can, save a radical change in things.:lamo

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JacksinPA said:

Beto for President.

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