Just like previous presidents, Donald Trump's political fortunes rise and fall with the economy

In spite of an ever-growing list of scandals and criminal indictments, President Trump's job approval rating has rallied from its December nadir. Trump's approval rating is now in the low 40s - where Reagan's and Clinton's approval stood around the time of their first midterm elections. Given Trump's controversial statements and the various crises which have gripped the White House since the inauguration, why is the 45th president’s approval rating so high? Matthew D. Atkinson, Darin DeWitt, and Joseph E. Uscinski find that, as has been the case with past US presidents, Trump’s approval rate ebbs and flows with the public’s perception of the economy. A relatively buoyant economy, they write, is keeping Trump’s approval rating higher than it might otherwise be. This says something particularly damning not just about approval ratings, but about voters, elections, and democracy as well.