Tweets can’t do it. A Sharpie couldn’t do it. Impeachment couldn’t do it. Not even a once-in-a-century pandemic can do it. Apparently nothing can fundamentally alter public opinion about President Donald Trump. And that puts the incumbent in a precarious political position as he seeks a second term.

As of Sunday, Trump’s national job approval rating stood at 45 percent approve and 51 percent disapprove, according to the RealClearPolitics average. That’s worse than a week ago, when his rating was 47 percent approve/50 percent disapprove and some people were hailing his improving numbers. Trump’s standing today is virtually identical to where he was a month ago (44 percent approve/53 percent disapprove) and two months ago (45 percent approve/52 percent disapprove), when the dust had settled from impeachment.

The bottom line is that Trump is a fundamentally polarizing figure. The vast majority of Americans have already decided how they feel about him, whether they think he’s doing a good job or not, and whether they’re going to vote for him in November. Therefore, they view his actions through that predetermined prism.

This dynamic is nothing new. Trump’s immobile job approval rating has been one of the most consistent data points over the last three years. It’s also part of the reason why the president didn’t enjoy a sustained boost when the coronavirus became more of a visible threat.

Trump has a limited political ceiling because he will never get significant crossover support. Even if the fallout is less severe than expected, Democrats will criticize the administration’s slow response, or fall back to other sins they believe the president has committed during his first term. After a bitter campaign and three years in office, Trump has lost the benefit of the doubt with a large segment of the electorate, and that’s virtually impossible to regain.