President-elect Donald Trump tweeted a response Tuesday morning to two polls that report his approval rating at 40 percent, which is a significantly lower number than his predecessors.
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https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821344302651555840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This and the response to it leaves us a lot to unpack, as all of the Election 2016 craziness collects in one place.
RELATED: Topless protestors crash the New York polling place where Donald Trump will cast his ballot
While the president-elect generalizes in his tweet that “the same people who did the phony election polls” were responsible for these unfavorable percentages, the numbers specifically come from Washington Post/ABC News and CNN/ORC polls.
.@realDonaldTrump Nah, you're just mad that you have the lowest approval rating of any incoming President for the past four decades. pic.twitter.com/Z2Nu6n3ElF
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) January 17, 2017
Trump has given credence to both Washington Post/ABC News and CNN/ORC polls in the past when they’ve been in his favor.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/788050035539865600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/793421274043285504
It makes one ask: what is it, exactly, that makes a poll rigged?
This aside, let’s take a look at the response this tweet has evoked on Twitter because it encapsulates just about everything that’s happened or is happening.
Release those tax returns
Your entire image and financial wealth is rigged. Release those tax returns, Don, I dare you.
— Mike P Williams (@Mike_P_Williams) January 17, 2017
Don’t care about those tax returns
https://twitter.com/Shortcircuit24k/status/821345366243241984
Hi there, we’re the alt-right and we have memes about winning
https://twitter.com/ALT_RIGHT_UK/status/821344574509461506
https://twitter.com/ALT_RIGHT_UK/status/821344519392137216
https://twitter.com/ALT_RIGHT_UK/status/821344884976013312
Celebrities just don’t want to play music at the inauguration
https://twitter.com/EmmaKennedy/status/821347048670842884
Most recently, the Bruce Springsteen tribute band called the B Street Band dropped out of a scheduled gala appearance out of respect for Springsteen, who has been quite vocal about his thoughts on Trump.
At one time, Springsteen called Trump “a moron, basically.”
RELATED: Yet another musical act has dropped out of the Trump inauguration lineup — here’s why
But many other musical acts have been associated with the inauguration one day and ruled out the next, seemingly a domino effect of political opinion among the pop culture elite.
Trump is a serial groper and Hillary Clinton did nothing wrong vs. Clinton lied, stole, paid for speeches and got people killed
Loses the popular vote, tweets that being “unpopular” is rigged
You mean the popular election that you lost by 3 million votes to Hillary on?
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) January 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/821346919029047300
Russia helped win Trump the election
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/821344487603572737
https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/821347623353417731
oh I see now, 3 million more people voted for HRC, but the Russians rigged it? OK, got it.
— Jeff (@cooch70) January 17, 2017
“Fake news”
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/821345017310707712
https://twitter.com/sammypolsen12/status/821345070511169538
And, of course, the “f*ck the Electoral College” tweet
https://twitter.com/Maggyw519/status/821382928760389632
That about covers it.
For your reference, the CNN/ORC and Washington Post/ABC News polls surveyed roughly the same number of people. 1,000 responded to CNN/ORC, while 1,005 responded to Washington Post/ABC News.
In both polls, 40 percent approved of Trump. For CNN/ORC, 52 percent or respondents disapproved; for Washington Post/ABC News, 54 percent of respondents disapproved.