Figures Don't Lie, But....

Trump's approval rating in his own internal polls has not shifted by more than 1 percent since April 2018, ⁦consistently hovering between 43-45 percent, @anniekarni⁩ reports https://t.co/kCByhV6EaH

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 14, 2019

I don't disagree with the basic argument of the article, that attacks on Trump didn't slow him down as he mowed through the GOP clown car in 2016 (but still, it was a clown car.  Marco Rubio?  Ted Cruz?  Jeb!?), nor on the way to the White House (although the thought of voting for Hillary was more than many could bear, and they less voted for Trump than not for Hillary), but the statement in the tweet is just reading one poll, or looking at 538's aggregate with one eye closed and the other squinting while saying "Yeah, that looks like it!"

538.com, as ever, has the corrective.

At this moment, there is an 11.5% gap between Trump's aggregate approval rating and his aggregate disapproval rating.  His approval rating on this scale has never been higher than 45.5%, and that's when he was inaugurated.  It's been as low as 36.5% on December 15, 2017.  His disapproval rating hit a high of 56% on January 25 of this year.  It is currently at 53.3%, not exactly a marked improvement.

It has "hovered" around 43-45% the way a bee hovers around a flower by entering the garden.  And since his disapproval rating has exceeded his approval rating since February 1, 2017, it's rather disingenuous to say his approval rating even means anything.  It doesn't reflect that percentage of the electorate in November, 2020.  It doesn't even reflect eligible voters in November, 2020.

And for historical comparisons, the lowest Obama's approval rating ever got in his first term was 44.7%, a rating that Trump, especially right now (41.8%, as of today) would positively kill for.

Trump hasn't "hovered" around anything.  His approval rating has been underwater since 9 days after he took his hand off the Bible. Obama's net approval went negative toward the end of his first term, but never by a gap of more than 5%.  Trump's gap has been anywhere from 5% (early in his term) to 20% (December 17, 2017).  As of today the gap is 11.5%, a great "improvement."

He's still about as popular as a disease.