Survey: 30 Percent of Californians Approve of Trump's Job Performance

A new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California finds overall that 30 percent of adults approve of the way President Trump is doing his job. But those numbers split sharply along party lines, with 72 percent of Republicans approving of the new president and 82 percent of Democrats disapproving.

The results demonstrate the state’s diversity, said PPIC president and CEO Mark Baldassare.

“Being not just geographically large but large in population, we’re a state that has a lot of unique and different political views within it that are represented,” he said.

Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic-controlled state Legislature seem to be faring well. The PPIC poll finds 62 percent of Californians approve of the job Brown’s doing — that’s the highest ever recorded by the survey. The Legislature’s approval rating is 57 percent, its highest point since 2001. However, there are deep partisan divides on that issue as well, with Republicans tending to disapprove of both.

Baldassare says much of the goodwill being shown toward the governor and Legislature is likely related to California’s strong economy in recent years and the state spending money on programs people care about.

“But I also think that there is hope and there is expectation on the part of Californians, at this time when many Californians are troubled about the direction of the country, that our leadership here will be up to the task,” he says.

Climate change proved to be another partisan issue, with 65 percent of adults, including  82 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of independents, believing it is a major threat to the country’s well-being. Republicans were more likely to classify climate change as a minor threat or not a threat at all.

One area that defied partisan divides was illegal immigration: 85 percent of adults, including 65 percent of Republicans, said undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country. Baldassare says many in California see immigration as a settled issue.

“Most Californians believe that the immigrants in our state are a net benefit to the people and economy of California,” he says.

Among the top issues that concern Californians were the economy, immigration and education.