The latest polling from the Public Religion Research Institute provides a stunning reflection on how Americans now regard Trump.

A survey from the PPRI, a nonpartisan independent research organisation, found that 56% of Americans think that “President Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy”.

Moreover, the US public don’t share his view of himself as only 41% see him as “a strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America’s greatness”.

Meanwhile, an early October Washington Post poll found 47% of voters blamed Trump and Republicans for the current government shutdown, while 30% blamed Democrats. A more recent Reuters poll found 50% blamed Republicans and 43% blamed Democrats, according to the Post.

Trump is also not doing well on economic vision. As G. Elliot Morris noted in Strength in Numbers, and an Economist/YouGov poll shows, 53% of Americans think the economy is getting worse. The latest Gallup poll shows that Americans now think Democrats, rather than Republicans, are the better party to keep the country prosperous, by a margin of 47% to 43%. This is a shift of 18 points in just over two years.

To cap things off, Trump gave an insight into how he determines policy. After threats to send what he called a “surge” — a military term — of agents to San Francisco, Trump announced he had changed his mind. He attributed this change of course to “friends of mine who live in the area".

Well, it’s one way to run a country – if not an optimal one.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.