What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending February 3, 2018

With the release Friday of a House Intelligence Committee investigative memo that Republicans say shows the FBI engaged in politically motivated, anti-Trump activities, and with fans siding up for the Super Bowl kickoff, this promises to be an especially contentious weekend.

As things stand already, voters by a 49% to 31% margin think a special prosecutor should be named to investigate whether FBI officials handled the investigations of Trump and Hillary Clinton in a legal and unbiased fashion.

A sizable number of voters had said they would tune in President Trump’s State the Union speech Tuesday, and more voters than usual said they were likely to watch the official Democratic response, as well. 

However, in the days following the president’s speech, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Trump making substantial gains, achieving his highest voter approval since March 7.

Most voters don’t generally have faith that the promises made in a president’s State of the Union address will be accomplished, but they think Trump has a better chance than most of keeping his promises.

Voters concede that opposition to Trump’s agenda is politically motivated, but even after Trump’s conciliatory State of the Union speech, they’re slightly less convinced Congress should work with the president.

Also, with mid-term elections on the horizon, Democrats hold an eight-point lead over Republicans on Rasmussen Reports’ Generic Congressional Ballot, but 17% of voters prefer a third-party candidate or are undecided.

The unemployment rate is down, and the stock market has hit record highs despite losses this week. So perhaps it’s no surprise that nearly half of voters give Trump positive marks for his handling of the economy.  

As the stock markets have been climbing steadily during Trump’s presidency, Americans still aren’t convinced the boom will last. The Dow Jones Industrials were down more than one percent Friday, but still up nearly 30% for the last year.

Trump flew to Davos, Switzerland to deliver his "America First" message in person to the world's global elite, and in this week's Rasmussen Minute, we take a front row seat to Trump's claim that America is back. 

While a majority of voters continue to be skeptical of big business and its ties to government, that number is down significantly from previous surveys.

In other surveys last week:

-- As this weekend’s Super Bowl brings football season to an end, more than one-in-three Americans say on-field protests by NFL players who took a knee during the national anthem deterred them from tuning in to this season’s games. 

-- In the past 10 years, the New England Patriots have won two Super Bowls and made it to the big game four times. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that nearly half of Americans think the Patriots will win the championship this year.

-- Most Americans still consider themselves healthy, but many continue to pass on medical checkups and prescription drugs to save money. 

-- President Trump’s monthly job approval in January edged up to 44%, one point higher than for the previous four months.

-- Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters now think the country is heading in the right direction. 

Visit the Rasmussen Reports home page for the latest current polling coverage of events in the news. The page is updated several times each day.

Remember, if it's in the news, it's in our polls.