Trump approval ticks up from record low: Survey

President Trump’s approval rating has risen slightly after hitting a record low last month, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released weeks before the midterm elections.

Thirty-five percent of Americans approved of Trump’s job performance as the deeply unpopular Iran war reached its sixth month, up from 33 percent in a late August poll revealing his lowest rating across both of his terms.

The poll also revealed growing popularity for Democrats among Americans, as Democrats held a 7-point advantage over Republicans when U.S. voters were asked which party they would support if the elections were held today. Forty-four percent chose Democrats and 37 percent preferred Republicans.

The survey was conducted in the days after Republicans gathered in Dallas for the party’s midterm convention, where Trump sought to rally voters around keeping GOP control of the House and Senate.

Trump’s pledge that he made at the convention to provide Americans with $5,000 dividend checks if Republicans maintain control of Congress received little support in the poll, with 63 percent of Americans saying they disapproved of it — including 4 in 10 Republicans and 9 in 10 Democrats.

Trump has since defended the proposed payments, which could add more than $1 trillion to the national debt and would likely require approval from Congress.

The proposal fell flat with fiscal hawks in the GOP, who said they would not support handing out money to people who do not work or pay taxes.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey also showed a shift toward Democrats on the economy, an issue that has become central amid rising inflation and trade disruptions from the Iran war that have caused oil and gas prices to surge.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents said Democrats would do a better job handling the economy, compared with 37 percent who sided with Republicans. Reuters reported Democrats gained an advantage on the issue over the summer for the first time in about a decade.