Trump approval rating drops to Nixonian levels of 33%

Donald Trump's approval ratings have fallen dramatically. AP

Donald Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to a new low level of 33 per cent, similar to that of Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

A new Quinnipiac University poll found 61 per cent of voters disapprove of Mr Trump’s performance in office, compared to 33 per cent who approve it.  That is the same margin that Richard Nixon’s popularity hovered around during the 1973 Watergate scandal that ended up ousting him from office in 1974 with a 24 per cent approval rating.

For Mr Trump, the new poll sees his honesty, leadership and values ratings plummet. Only 34 per cent of Americans view him as honest, 63 per cent say he does not have good leadership skills and another 63 per cent say he does not share their values.

The only two areas where Mr Trump is performing well in is 58 per cent view him as a strong person and 55 per cent believe he is intelligent.

The Russia investigation appears to have had a very negative toll on Mr Trump’s popularity. Almost two thirds of people think he "has attempted to derail or obstruct the investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 election” and 69 per cent say it would be abuse of power if Mr Trump fires the special counsel in the investigation Robert Mueller.

However, 32 per cent of respondents believe Mr Trump didn’t do anything wrong with Russia, while 30 per cent said he did something illegal and another 30 per cent he did something in ethical but not illegal.

Just over half of voters disapprove of Mr Trump’s handling of the economy; 59 per cent disapprove of his foreign policy and 65 per cent object to his handling of health care.

A vast majority of American voters, 69 percent, want Mr Trump to stop tweeting from his personal Twitter account.

The poll was conducted between July 27 and August 1, included 1,125 voters. Its full results can be viewed here.