As Donald Trump prepares to take the US presidential oath on January 20, over half of Americans are skeptical about his ability to handle an international crisis, to use military force wisely or to prevent major scandals in his administration, according to a new poll released on Monday.
In comparison, at least seven out of ten Americans were confident in Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in these areas before they took office, according to the Gallup poll.
46 percent of poll respondents are confident Trump can handle an international crisis, 47 percent believe he will use military force wisely, while 44 percent think he can prevent major scandals in his administration, the poll shows.
US President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters as he and his wife Melania Trump arrive for a New Year's Eve celebration with members and guests at the Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 31, 2016. /CFP Photo
However, Americans express somewhat more confidence in Trump to work effectively with Congress (60 percent), to handle the economy effectively (59 percent), to defend US interests abroad as president (55 percent), and to manage the executive branch effectively (53 percent), said Jeffrey M. Jones, a poll analyst with Gallup.
But even in these areas, Americans are far less confident in Trump than they were in his predecessors, when comparisons are available, Jones said.
The results for Trump are based on a December 7-11 Gallup poll conducted via telephone interviews, with a random sample of 1,028 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
The poll results are consistent with prior Gallup polling showing Trump having a much lower favourable rating than prior presidents-elect, and a much lower approval rating for how he has handled his presidential transition.
The poll's margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
(Source: Xinhua)
