The bad president is having a bad day, but the good news is you can make it worse.
As Twitter threaders variously weave blankets of conspiracy and comforting explainers about Indictment Day, Gallup is showing that Trump’s approval rating has hit an all-time low of 33 percent. Trump’s disapproval rating rose to 62 percent, which is the highest it’s been since he took office.
Though Trump’s approval rating has been hovering in the 30s since August, Republicans won’t start defecting until it dips into the 20s and stays submerged. A prolonged series of grand jury indictments concerning the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russians will help, but getting on the phones with members of Congress and coming out strong against the GOP’s tax bill will likely help twist the knife.
Trump’s approval ratings dive during healthcare battles. He hit 35 percent for the first time in late March of 2017, just after the House’s first healthcare bill drowned. He hit 34 percent at the end of August, right as Graham-Cassidy was sinking. This Wednesday, the House will release the details—finally—of its plan to provide tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the poor. We already know, however, that they’re planning to pay for this bullshit partially by cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid. That means the tax cut fight—which for some reason doesn’t drive huge numbers of people out into the streets—is actually a healthcare fight.
If constituents make the tax cut fight just as big as the healthcare fight, Trump’s approval might fall even lower. This week is a particularly opportune time to make a fuss.
Luckily for you, Indivisible, the congressional advocacy group born from a Google doc, is hosting a national call-your-congressperson-and-tell-them-you-strongly-dislike-the-GOP-tax-plan day this Thursday. They’ve got scripts for people with Democratic congress members and scripts for people with Republican congress members. They’ve got an explainer on the whole thing. Put it on your calendar and call before you head into work.
