Only two in five respondents to a recent poll believed President Donald Trump did a good job of representing America’s interests when the president met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Helsinki. | Oliver Contreras/Getty Images Poll: Trump's overseas 'chaos' gives Democrats an edge in midterms

President Donald Trump’s political stumbles on Russia, his protracted trade war and his overall “impulsive” behavior have deeply rattled potential voters, according to a new poll by a left-leaning group.

A majority of respondents to the survey, commissioned by the nonprofit group National Security Action and first provided to POLITICO, believe the president has diminished America’s standing in the world and that he’s made the country less safe. Party strategists say the findings point to a new opening on national security and foreign policy for Democrats in the midterms. Those have traditionally been areas of strength for the GOP.


Conducted by Hart Research from July 17-23, the survey showed that nearly two-thirds of those polled — including Democrats, Republicans and swing voters — believe Trump “acts impulsively and recklessly” on national security issues, while three-in-five respondents said Trump doesn’t treat Russia seriously enough as a threat and that he had gone too far in trying to please President Vladimir Putin. Just two in five respondents believed Trump did a good job of representing America’s interests when the president met with Putin last month in Helsinki.

However, a majority of those polled — 56 percent — approved of Trump’s overall handling of America’s national security.

“In a broader sense, one of the things that’s troubling for people about the Trump presidency is that it feels like it is the chaos presidency,” said Hart Research president Geoff Garin, a longtime Democratic strategist. The survey asked more than 1,000 people who voted in the 2016 presidential election for their views on Trump’s handling of various foreign policy and national security issues, from Russia and his recent meeting with Putin, to immigration to the impact of his trade war.

“This is important for Democrats in terms of their messaging,” Garin said. “The more we are connecting Trump’s very significant character liabilities to these policy issues, the more credible Democrats will be and the more likely it is that their criticisms will resonate with voters.”

Trump was roundly condemned for contradicting U.S. intelligence agencies after he declared during a news conference with Putin: “I don’t see any reason why it would” be Russia that interfered in the U.S. election. The president later backtracked, saying he misspoke:

“The sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.’ Sort of a double negative,” Trump said.

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Saul Anuzis, a Republican strategist and former Michigan Republican Party chairman, questioned whether international policy would have much of an effect in November, arguing there’s strong base support for Trump’s discussions with foreign leaders. Domestic and local issues will drive turnout, he said.

“Trump’s actions with North Korea, Iran, Russia and ISIS demonstrate he has a smart and effective team in place that handles foreign policy. His leadership at NATO and the EU have proven to be effective,” said Anuzis. “The mainstream media’s constant attacks influence polling. But when the policy is explained, Trump’s approval ratings are rising and comparably high compared to other presidents. House races tend to be local. They come home on weekends and are normally community based.”

