Except that Trump’s approval ratings at the time were higher not because of the briefings but because of his actions — and the downward trend in his approval began as he began to play down the pandemic’s seriousness. Using approval rating averages from RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight, you can see how approval of Trump surged shortly after the briefings began but then began sliding lower. It was about that point that his approval began to slip. Which, again, is true — but it’s not necessarily true that the briefings are why his approval ratings were higher. Quinnipiac University polling released last week shows that only about a quarter of Americans, most of them Republicans, trust information Trump provides.

Source: Washington Post July 20, 2020 17:47 UTC