What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending August 4, 2018

President Trump, who is making a series of campaign stops for Republicans facing 2018 midterm election battles, will be in Central Ohio tonight stumping for Republican House candidate Troy Balderson. Trump on Thursday attended a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to back Representative Lou Barletta’s challenge for the Senate seat of Democrat Bob Casey.

In a speech earlier this week, Trump said, “It’s time we had proper border security. We’re the laughingstock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world.” While nearly half of voters agree with the president’s statement, they’re not convinced that shutting down the government until Congress passes immigration reform that includes a wall along the Mexican border is the way to go.

Trump also visited Granite City, Illinois, last week to address the success of a recently reopened steel mill there, saying, "Made in America. It's not just a slogan but a way of life.” Most Americans agree with the president and say buying American-made is important to them.

Democrats continue to lead over Republicans on the latest Rasmussen Reports Generic Congressional Ballot.

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The trial of Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, on bank and tax fraud charges concluded the first week of its expected two-week proceedings in Alexandria, Virginia, yesterday.

Voters are closely following news of Manafort’s indictment, which stems from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether there were “links and/or coordination” between the Russian government and Trump’s 2016 campaign. But they don’t see it snowballing into criminal charges against the president.

The FBI is in possession of taped recordings of Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen discussing payment for a former Playboy model’s story of an alleged affair prior to Trump’s election. But while most voters are following this news closely, they’re split over its impact on their vote. 

Trump earned a monthly job approval of 46% in July.

In other surveys last week:

-- U.S. airstrikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan are on the rise, but one-in-five voters aren’t even aware that the 17-year war in Afghanistan is still going on, and fewer see the Middle Eastern nation as a national security interest.

-- It’s been almost two years since Trump was elected president, but for a third of voters, the 2016 election has had long-lasting negative effects on relationships with family and friends. Most voters also think Americans are less tolerant of each other’s political opinions these days. 

-- Most voters continue to give the health care they receive a positive rating, but few hold the nation’s health care system in high regards.

-- A number of Democratic gubernatorial and senatorial candidates from across the country have been stumping for single-payer healthcare as part of their 2018 midterm election platforms. Voters are now closely divided on whether the federal government should provide healthcare for everyone even though most believe their personal taxes will increase as a result.

-- Forty-one percent (41%) of voters now think the country is heading in the right direction. 

Visit the Rasmussen Reports home page for the latest current polling coverage of events in the news. The page is updated several times each day.

Remember, if it's in the news, it's in our polls.