Trump's 6-month approval rating hits new low

The poor approval ratings are due in large part to the ongoing Russian Federation investigation as well as perceptions of Trump's ability to lead America on the world stage and the unpopularity of the proposed Republican health care bill.

U.S. President Donald Trump, fresh from a political holiday in Paris, went back on the offensive Sunday as a new poll showed his popularity dropping amid doubts about Russian meddling and deepening frustrations over stalled health-care legislation and other issues.

Almost half of respondents - 48 percent - said they "disapprove strongly" of the president's performance in office, a low level never reached by ex-Presidents Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, both Democrats, and reached only once by George W. Bush, during his second term.

The only other president to approach such low numbers at the six-month mark of his presidency was Gerald Ford, who had just a 39 percent approval rating in February 1975.

Trump wants to increase USA production by scaling back regulations and renegotiating the country's trade deals. Overall, 63 percent of Americans said the meeting was inappropriate while 60 percent think Russian Federation tried to influence the election and 44 percent say the Trump campaign benefited from the Kremlin's efforts.

Over half of those polled say they don't think Trump is making significant progress toward his goals, while just 38 percent say they think he is making progress.

Only 26% said holding the meeting appropriate, while 63% said it was inappropriate, according to the new poll. A White House official, who requested anonymity to discuss the "Made in America" week events before they occurred, said Sunday there is no specific timeline for Ross to present the findings of his investigation. Of those, 48 percent said they do not trust Trump "at all" in negotiations with Putin.

President Trump, whose company outsources the manufacturing of many of its products to overseas factories, is unveiling "Made in America" week at the White House to promote products made in the United States.

Opinion is also almost evenly split with regards to how Trump is handling the economy.

Sixteen percent said they aren't ready to rate his performance.

"The poll's sample was taken from 439 counties in 16 states-Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin-that either flipped from Barack Obama to Trump, or where Trump greatly outpaced Mitt Romney's performance in 2012", according to NBC.

When the poll's participants were broken down according to groups, the partisan nature of current politics becomes apparent.

Among liberal Democrats, the figure if five percent.

The new survey also showed that Republicans' legislative struggles may be weighing on Trump's popularity.

Among independents, Trump received 32 percent approval.