Is Trump's Base Support Stable? [POLL]

Are there cracks in the support of President Donald Trump's base? That could be one interpretation of a recent survey conducted by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll that found the president's job approval score standing at 39 percent among Americans, down from 42 percent in December.

The numbers also show that Trump's negative rating is 53 percent, going up 4 points from 49 percent previously.

More worrying for the president could be that his approval rating has declined among Republicans — 83 percent, which is down from 90 percent.

Support among white evangelical Christians has gone down from 56 points in December to 43 points, the Marist Poll said.

The president's approval score among white men without a college education (50 percent) is now +15 points over his negative rating (35 percent), marking a change from a previous +22 at the end of the year — 56 percent to 34 percent.

The proportion of Americans who strongly disapprove of how the president is doing his job — 45 percent — is nearly double those who strongly approve — 24 percent.

Adults who report an intense dissatisfaction with Trump's job performance as president matches the largest proportion with this view (45 percent) since December 2017.

So has anything of consequence been going on lately that the president is involved with that might have had an affect on his job approval numbers?

"In the middle of the government shutdown, Americans think the buck stop with the president, and his approval rating is taking a hit," said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

"Keep an eye on whether the decline in the president's base is a temporary setback or more long-lasting," he said.

Looking forward to the presidential race in 2020, the president faces strong headwinds, the Marist Poll found.

Republican and Republican-leaning independents are divided about whether or not they want Trump to have a primary challenger.

Of those surveyed, 45 percent say they do not want President Trump to face a primary opponent, and 44 percent do. Only 11 percent are unsure.

When asked whether they would definitely vote for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, only three in 10, or 30 percent, said they would, compared with 57 precent who said they will definitely vote against him — a 27 point negative difference.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll was conducted Jan. 10 through Jan. 13, 2019. The survey was of 1,023 adults 18 years of age and older living in the contiguous United States.

The margin of error is 3.8 percent. Read the complete methodology here.

Now it's your turn to give your opinion. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us why in the comments.

Photo caption: U.S. President Donald J. Trump participates in a Missile Defense Review announcement on Jan. 17, 2019 at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia. Photo credit: Martin H. Simon - Pool/Getty Images.