Joy Behar: Strong economy should put Trump approval in 70s, but ‘people hate him anyway’

The View host Joy Behar said that Donald Trump’s economy is so strong, his poll numbers “should be in the 70s.”

Behar is not exactly known for speaking well of Donald Trump, so the acknowledgment came as a bit of a shock. But Behar wasn’t exactly praising him, either.

Joy Behar praises Trump economy

Behar was discussing Trump’s approval ratings when she observed that despite the strong Trump economy, the president is struggling to win over America.

“The thing about the economy that’s interesting is that Trump’s numbers never seem to go past 38, 39%. And with an economy like this, he should be in the 70s,” she said.

Meghan McCain agreed that it was strange for the president’s ratings to be stuck in a bog despite keeping his promises to revive the economy.

“It’s bizarrely historical in that sense that in any other presidency this would be a persona non grata because the economy is on fire,” she said. “It’s something he promised, and he has kept, whether or not he deserves credit for it or not.”

To explain the discrepancy, Behar cited the Washington Post’s claim that Trump has made more than 10,000 false or misleading statements.

“He’s so disgusting that people hate him anyway,” she said.

Fake News

In other words, Trump’s a liar and a disgusting clown, according to Behar. But isn’t it a little bit ironic to be citing the mainstream press that is so widely distrusted? A recent poll found that 50% of respondents believe that major news organizations like the Post publish “Fake News.”

President Trump has also faced an unrelenting storm of negative press — about 90% negative — since the day he was elected and before that, and it shows no sign of stopping. The same news organizations that perpetuated the Russia hoax have refused to accept accountability and are instead doubling down on the collusion delusion.

Perhaps convincing millions of Americans that the president was a Russian agent hurt his poll numbers — just a tiny bit?

Who’s disgusting?

Trump’s approval ratings have remained remarkably consistent despite the constant barrage of negative press and the tumultuous ups-and-downs of his presidency, generally floating around 40%.

Behar neglected to note that President Obama’s poll numbers often floated in the 40s and, by some estimates, he rarely earned the approval of more than half the country, and he never broke 70%. Was he “disgusting,” too?

Of course, President Obama did reach greater peaks, but this is also the president who treated the press like his teacup Yorkie. Perhaps it’s just a phenomenon of modern, polarized politics that presidents struggle to be loved by the majority. Or maybe Trump just has to contend with a historically dishonest media.