Is Trump More Insane Or More Dishonest? Will Voters Care In 2018?

At one time MSNBC's Morning Joe seemed to be Trump's favorite TV show. He was a guest numerous times and even bandied about the idea of naming Joe Scarborough his vice president, And remember when he asked Scarborough's co-host and fiancé, Mika Brzezinski, to come visit transition headquarters in Trumpanzee Tower? Thursday morning, before Comey's testimony at the Senate Intelligence Committee, Brzezinski speculated what many Americans fear, that Trump is "mentally ill." On the air yesterday she said "I think he's such a narcissist, it's possible that he is mentally ill in a way. He's not well. At the very least he's not well... And he's so narcissistic he does not believe the rules apply to him. That's where the ignorance label may apply because this is a man who says he can grab women anywhere because he's famous. The point is, he feels he can say or do things different from the norm because he's famous, because he's a celebrity, because he has power."

And while she was going on about Trump's personal qualities, Quinnipiac was releasing their newest poll which reports some pretty strong, widely-shared opinions about Trump's personal qualities. Hours later, when Comey said several times under oath that Trump is a liar, he was confirming what 59% of Americans already know. Trump's job approval sank to it's lowest ever-- 34-57%, 3 points lower than in late May.

"There is zero good news for President Donald Trump in this survey, just a continual slide into a chasm of doubt about his policies and his very fitness to serve," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

"If this were a prize fight, some in his corner might be thinking about throwing in the towel. This is counter puncher Donald Trump's pivotal moment to get up off the mat.

"With a third of the members of his own party questioning his level headedness, this is clearly the moment the president needs to steady the ship."

American voters say 68 - 29 percent that President Trump is not level-headed, his worst grade on that quality. Republicans say 64 - 32 percent he is level-headed. Voter opinions of most other Trump qualities are negative:

• 59 - 36 percent that he is not honest;
• 58 - 39 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
• 58 - 40 percent that he does not care about average Americans

...American voters disapprove 62 - 32 percent of Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord. Republicans are the only listed group to approve, 72 - 20 percent.

A total of 76 percent of voters are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about climate change and 65 percent say the U.S. needs to do more to address climate change.

Immediately after the Comey testimony at the Senate yesterday, that gross Huckabee daughter who works for Trump said "No, I can say definitively the president is not a liar." Well I guess that settles that.

The Cook Report's Amy Walter pointed out the further growth of "a clear 'enthusiasm' gap is opening between Democrats and Republicans, with Democrats more engaged (or is it enraged?) than their GOP counterparts. We are seeing a drop in 'strong' approval for President Trump as well as less than robust turn-out from GOP voters in special elections in Kansas, Georgia and Montana.

The latest example of this enthusiasm gap is the drop in the percentage of Americans who identify as Republican. Polling taken in May by Gallup finds 45 percent of Americans identify themselves as Democrats and 38 percent identify as Republican. The seven-point gap is the largest recorded by Gallup since April of 2015. With Trump’s overall job rating stalled in the high 30’s to low 40’s and the GOP- controlled Congress yet to rally around (or pass) a significant legislative agenda, it’s not surprising to see fewer Americans identify themselves as a Republican. Think of party identification (do you identify as a Republican, Democrat or independent), like the “bandwagon” effect in sports. The better your team is doing, the more likely that you will follow their games, wear their gear, and proudly tell people you are a fan. But, when your team starts losing, the gear goes back into the closet, the TV is tuned to another program and you give your season tickets away to anyone willing to go to the stadium.

But, before Democrats get too excited about these latest numbers, it’s important to note that there has not been a corresponding bump in the percentage of Americans who identify as Democratic. As Gallup writes, “the Republican decline has been offset mostly by a three-point increase in the percentage of Americans with no party preference or leaning.” In other words, voters may be souring on Republicans but that doesn’t mean they are transferring their allegiance to Democrats.