Connelly: Trump approval higher than Clinton's, but Sanders bests both

Donald Trump speaks before a large and raucous crowd at Everett's Xfinity Arena. That was then. After eight months in office, just 36 percent have positive feelings toward our 45th president.

Donald Trump speaks before a large and raucous crowd at Everett's Xfinity Arena. That was then. After eight months in office, just 36 percent have positive feelings toward our 45th president. Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Connelly: Trump approval higher than Clinton's, but Sanders bests both 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Only 36 percent of Americans have a positive view of President Trump, nearly eight months into his presidency and a new low in approval for Trump, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll.

Such is the bad news for Trump. The good news is that his approval rating is higher than that of Hillary Clinton, the 2016 opponent he continues to denounce.

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Just 30 percent of those surveyed have a positive opinion of Clinton, while 53 percent take a dim view. The poll found that 52 percent of those in the poll had a mildly (12 percent) or strongly (40 percent) negative view of Trump.

Twenty-two percent of those surveyed voiced a strongly positive opinion of Trump, compared to just 13 percent for Clinton.

Former President Barack Obama enjoys a far higher approval rating, with 35 percent either "strongly" or "moderately" (17 percent) giving a thumbs-up to the 44th president. The remainder were undecided or had no opinion.

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Insurgent 2016 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, has a 44 percent positive rating, a full 14 points higher than Hillary. Thirty percent view him negatively, with a larger undecided/don't know percentage.

Hillary Clinton is about to embark on a nationwide tour hawking her new book "What Happened," and vowing to venture out from her formerly guarded opinions. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C., stops round out the tour in early December.

The NBC/Journal poll shows a long, long decline in Clinton approval, which ranged as high as 66 percent five years ago when she left her position as Secretary of State. It has never been as low as 30 percent.

The poll of 1,200 American adults was conducted August 5-9 and has a margin of error of just under 3 percent.