ROCK HILL, S.C. – President Donald Trump’s support is continuing to grow in South Carolina, according to a recent poll.
In a poll released by Winthrop University, Trump’s approval rating in the Palmetto State climbed four points for 46 percent since February, with 80 percent of South Carolina Republicans standing behind his job in the White House. The U.S. Congress disapproval rating was a whopping 77 percent among those polled.
The poll found that only 45 percent of SC residents said "honest" accurately describes President Trump, while 79 percent of self-identified Democrats said that’s very inaccurate.
South Carolina residents said the most important problem facing the country is immigration, followed by racism and politicians/government. The biggest issues facing South Carolina specifically were education, infrastructure and jobs/unemployment.
“Seventy-five percent of White Evangelicals feel that describing Trump as someone who stands up for them is very or somewhat accurate,” said Winthrop poll director Dr. Scott Huffmon. “Nationally, we have seen white evangelical support for Trump remain at levels usually only seen among strong partisans. The fact that fewer than half of Evangelicals overall would describe Trump as ‘Godly’ or ‘Moral’ suggests that his strength with these groups comes not from modeling pious behavior, but from them viewing him as a bulwark against a culture that they feel is increasingly hostile to them.”
Here's how South Carolinians describe President Trump using these adjectives:
Honest: Of all respondents, 45% said that very or somewhat accurately describes Trump, 38% said the term was a very inaccurate description of Trump and 79% of Democratic identifiers said very inaccurate.
Capable: 58% of all respondents said that is very or somewhat accurate, 42% of Evangelicals (of all races) said that is very accurate, while 29% of all respondents said it was very inaccurate.
Christian: 48% of GOP identifiers said that was somewhat accurate, while 39% of all respondents said it was inaccurate and 77% of Democratic identifiers said it was very inaccurate.
Godly: 47% of all respondents said that is very inaccurate and 36% of Evangelicals said it was very inaccurate. Of the GOP identifiers, 39% said it was somewhat accurate.
Moral: 59% of all respondents said it was somewhat or very inaccurate, while 61% of GOP identifiers said it was either somewhat or very accurate.
Strong: 89% of GOP identifiers said that is somewhat or very accurate, while a fourth of all respondents said it was very inaccurate.
Stands up for people like me: 43% of GOP identifiers and 42% of White Evangelicals said this statement is very accurate. Half of all respondents said it was somewhat or very inaccurate.
Poll methodology: For this latest Winthrop Poll, callers surveyed 789 residents in South Carolina by landline and cell phones between April 7-16. Results which use all respondents have a margin of error of approximately +/- 3.5% at the 95% confidence level. Subgroups have higher margins of error. Margins of error are based on weighted sample size and account for design effects.
