Trump celebrates Fox News poll on economy but ignores less favorable parts of survey

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Thursday celebrated a Fox News poll that showed voters are pleased with his handling of the economy – but the same poll also found those voters didn't think it would change much if a Democrat is elected in 2020.

"Fox Poll say best Economy in DECADES!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

He also noted his approval rating on his handling of the economy had jumped four percentage points to 52% from a Fox News poll in May.

"Shouldn’t this be at 100%?" he wondered. "Best stock market, economy and unemployment numbers ever! Most people working within U.S. ever! Low interest rates, very low inflation! Country doing great!"

The poll was consistent with voters' attitude toward Trump's handling of the economy since he took office. His approval rating on that issue has remained in the high 40% range, with the exception of two outliers in 2017 that put him at 45% and 44%.

It also found that a majority (51%) of Americans rated the economy either "good" or "excellent" for the first time since the Great Recession. According to Fox News, the result had not been that positive since January 2001 when the number was at 59%.

But the poll did not indicate that Americans necessarily think that keeping Trump in office is tied to future economic success. When asked for their economic prediction if Trump is reelected, 33% said conditions would get better, 26% said it would stay the same and 39% said it would get worse. The numbers did not change much when people were asked what they thought would happen if a Democrat became president, with 33% saying it would get better, 24% saying it would stay the same and 36% saying it would get worse.

The economy was the only area where the majority of respondents thought the president was doing a good job. Here is a rundown of how he fared on the issues:

• Health care: 38% approve, 51% disapprove

• Border security: 44% approve, 52% disapprove

• Immigration: 41% approve, 54% disapprove

• Trade: 40% approve, 49% disapprove

• North Korea: 39% approve, 49% disapprove

• Iran: 39% approve 46% disapprove

• Race relations: 32% approve, 57% disapprove

Forty-six percent of registered voters said they approved of the job Trump was doing overall, while 51% said they disapproved.

The president's low rating on his handling of racial issues was also reflected in Americans' opinion of his tweets telling four Democratic congresswomen to "go back and help fix" their countries of origin. Sixty-three percent said Trump's tweets "crossed the line" while only 27% felt it was an "acceptable political attack."

More: Trump's job approval rating reaches high mark in NPR/PBS/Marist poll after racist tweets

Fifty-six percent said they believed that telling a person of color to go back to the country they came from is racist, while 23% said it wasn't racist and 18% said that it "depends." Overall, 37% said they believe that Trump "respects racial minorities," while 57% said that he does not.

Last week, a USA TODAY/Ipsos poll found that 68% of Americans considered Trump's tweets aimed at the four congresswomen to be offensive and 59% said they were "un-American."

In the Fox poll, 60% of the respondents said they were concerned about the treatment of migrants detained at the U.S. southern border. Forty-nine percent said they disapproved of the job the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was doing, while 45% said they approved.

At 45%, Trump had a higher favorability rating among registered voters than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (25%), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (39%), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (34%), Rep. Ilhan Omar (26%) and former special counsel Robert Mueller (40%). But at 51%, the president also had a higher unfavorable rating than any of those political figures, the Fox poll found.

Voters had a more favorable view of Obamacare than all of them at 52%.

The poll was conducted from a sample of 1,004 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.

The poll was conducted from July 21-23, ahead of Mueller's testimony before two House committees on Wednesday. Forty-nine percent said there was no chance Mueller's appearance would change how they feel about Trump and 23% said there was only a small chance. Another 11% said there was "some chance" and 8% said there was a "strong chance."

Forty-two percent said they believe Trump should be impeached and removed from office.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump touts Fox poll on economy but it's got some bad news for him too