A new Morning Consult/Politico poll finds that a majority of American voters liked Donald Trump’s inauguration speech. Despite the collective media’s freakout and repeated use of the word “dark” in describing the president’s inaugural address, most voters (51 percent) thought his speech was optimistic, while only 26 percent thought it was pessimistic.
Only 39 percent of those surveyed believed the next-day Women’s March was more heavily attended than the inauguration had been, while 26 percent thought Trump’s swear-in drew a larger crowd than the protests did. Aerial images for both events suggest the protest march was better attended than the inauguration.
Yet 44 percent of Republican voters thought more people attended the inauguration than attended the march, while only 20 percent of Republicans thought the Women’s March drew a thicker crowd. These numbers indicate that Republicans are more willing to agree with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s assertion that Trump’s inauguration was heavily attended than they are to believe overhead images of the National Mall and estimations from “crowd scientists” reporters relayed.
Trump also saw a slight boost in favorability ratings after delivering his inaugural speech. Forty-nine percent of American voters view Trump favorably now, which is a 3 percent boost from the 46 percent who thought of him favorably before the speech.
Trump’s use of the phrase “America First” is also very popular: 65 percent thought it was a positive message, while only 22 percent reacted negatively to it. This reaction stands in stark contrast to the media’s fainting spell over Trump’s use of the phrase.
