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A new poll shows a 50 percent approval rating for Mr Trump, markking the first time the US President has polled that level since June 2017. The Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll also revealed 49 percent of those polled disapproved of the US President. At the same stage in his presidency the Rasmussen poll showed Barack Obama had a 45 percent approval rating. Other polls earlier this week showed lower support for Mr Trump with Reuters/Ipsos putting him at 40 percent, and Quinnipiac at 37 percent.

Rasmussen polled 500 probable voters on 15 and 18 February for the findings. The high rating comes after the President's high profile push for arming teachers in the fight against school mass shootings in the country. Mr Trump said his plan for guns in schools would mean about one fifth of teachers would receive special training and carry concealed weapons. He said: "Let's say you had 20 per cent of your teaching force, that's pretty much the number. If you had a teacher adept at firarms it could very well end the attack very quickly. We're going to be looking at it very strongly.

GETTY Trump's approval rating has soared

"You have a lot of people, they may be armed, they may be professionals, they may be people that left the Marines, Army, Air Force, and are adept. You'd have a lot of them and they'd be spread evenly through the school." He said "attacks would end" if teachers were armed. Mr Trump tweeted: "If a potential 'sicko shooter' knows that a school has a large number of very weapons-talented teachers and others who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won't go there." His calls came in the wake of a massacre in Florida on Valentine's Day, where 17 students were gunned down in America’s worst ever high school shooting.

Nikolas Cruz in pictures: Latest photos of the Florida shooting suspect Mon, February 19, 2018 Cruz is facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 23 Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a status hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Florida shooting: Students fled the school in fear

GETTY Trump has been pushing to arm teachers

....If a potential “sicko shooter” knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there...problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018