

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, on Aug. 15. (REUTERS/Eric Thayer)

A raft of poll results from Gallup released Monday might further explain why Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is losing support. It isn’t only because the Republican nominee is an undisciplined and erratic know-it-all stomping all over his own message. It also might be because support for the person he says is the “co-founder” of the Islamic State is at all-time highs.

According to Gallup, President Obama’s overall job approval rating sits at 52 percent. That is five percentage points higher than a year ago. But what about foreign policy and the economy? The president has seen a steady increase in support.

(Courtesy of Gallup)

Approval of Obama’s handling of foreign policy was 39 percent in February. Today, it is 48 percent. That’s a nine-percentage-point jump in six months. “The latest rating is the highest since November 2012,” when it was 49 percent, Gallup reports.

(Courtesy of Gallup)

Meanwhile, the president’s handling of the economy “has been steadily climbing over the past year,” Gallup notes. Just before the 2014 midterm elections, only 33 percent approved of his handling of the economy. Today, Obama’s standing has improved 15 percentage points to 48 percent. According to Gallup, “His rating is now at a seven-year high.”

And if you look at other areas that polled, Obama’s standing is higher in August 2016 than it was in August 2015. A five-percentage-point increase in approval of his handling of race relations (51 percent). An eight-percentage-point increase in approval of his handling of immigration (44 percent). And a four-percentage-point increase in approval of his handling of terrorism (45 percent).

Those numbers definitely show that there is room for improvement. But they also show something more important. The applause and cheers that greet Trump’s pessimistic and cynical lines at one of his rallies increasingly fall on deaf ears outside the hall.

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