52 Percent Don't Trust Obama, 60 Percent Disapprove of Obama's Health Care Handling
The public's trust in President Obama has sunk to a new low according to a recent Quinnipiac poll, with a slim majority (52 percent) who say the president is not "honest or trustworthy" whereas 44 percent believe he is. Just last month, most Americans (54 percent) agreed the president was honest and trustworthy, while 41 percent disagreed.
In November, Quinnipiac found that a solid majority (60 percent) of independents distrusted Barack Obama as well as 86 percent of Republicans, but only 12 percent of Democrats. Slim majorities of all age groups also reported a lack of trust in the president, including 51 percent of millennials, some of Obama's most enthusiastic supporters. Eight-one percent of African-Americans trust Obama and 59 percent of Caucasians do not, while Hispanics are evenly divided 51 percent to 49 percent in slight favor of the president. A majority (55 percent) of men are distrustful of the president, and a slight plurality (49 percent) of women agrees.
Presidential trust has likely waned amidst the millions of Americans who have had their current health insurance plans canceled even after President Obama consistently promised "if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." Moreover, the messy rollout of health insurance exchanges have resulted in only 100,000 enrollments, falling about 80 percent short of 500,000 enrollments the administration's models had predicted. The actual implementation of the health care law has continued to undermine the Obama administration's promises and predictions.
Within this context, it is perhaps less surprising that only 36 percent approve of the president's handling of health care, compare to 43 percent in October. Not only that, for the first time since Quinnpiac began asking the question, Americans are equally likely to trust Republicans with health care as President Obama (43 and 42 percent respectively). Just last month, Obama enjoyed a 9 point advantage over his GOP colleagues (47 to 38 percent). Once debate over the government shutdown settled, the renewed focus on the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare has not gone well for the president.
