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Wow! Some Actual Data To Back Up Our Previous Wild Speculation…
On the heels of much-heralded Presidential pardons of soldiers convicted of war crimes, Trump’s approval rating among active duty military is indeed down.
Today’s column is meant as a follow-up to our recent piece: “Another Overheard Coffee Shop Conversation Does Not Bode Well For Trump”.
In that, we related a conversation we’d overheard among a party of two couples sitting together across from us, at least two of whom were ex-military, and one who seemed to be a Trump supporter. And who all — including the Trump booster — felt the President had gone too far when he pardoned several soldiers who’d been convicted of war crimes, including former Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher.
Now a poll in Military Times appears to validate the assertion we made based on that initial anecdote. It finds in the days after Trump issued those pardons, his popularity fell with active-duty military personnel, for that among other reasons. His unfavorable rating now sneaking up to about 50%, from just 37% when he first took office. Although he remains slightly more popular with the military community than among U.S. citizens overall.