President Donald Trump is in a precarious position. If he can't get his ship of state moving smoothly in the right direction and end the series of setbacks and embarrassments that have plagued him, he will have squandered his first 100 days. This is a key time when a new president, fresh from victory, generally has maximum support around the country and optimal leverage on Capitol Hill. So if Trump can't get things right very quickly, it will only get more difficult down the line.

During his first month in office, Trump's record has been decidedly mixed, certainly not the triumphant series of actions he crowed about during his hyperbolic news conference last week. The latest NBC News/Survey Monkey online poll, released Wednesday, finds that only 43 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing and 54 percent disapprove. A big part of his problem is that 66 percent are worried that the United States will become engaged in a major war during the next four years, while a minority of 33 percent are not worried, the poll finds.

True, Trump has begun to move the government in a more conservative direction, which he promised to do during the campaign. He has populated his administration with right-of-center officials and named conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, all of which has pleased his conservative base. One personnel choice in particular, his appointment of Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to replace Michael Flynn as White House national security adviser, has won plaudits almost universally because of McMaster's reputation as a brilliant military strategist and historian. Also pleasing to the right, Trump is taking unilateral steps to reduce regulations, relax environmental rules to encourage business, and dismantle the Affordable Care Act championed by his predecessor Barack Obama. He has served notice that other conservative moves are coming, such as building a wall between the United States and Mexico and new efforts to deport large numbers of immigrants in the country without legal status.

But Trump won't admit his problems. He told reporters last week, "I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine." Being in such denial makes it more difficult for him to pull himself out of the trough.

He is making basic and sometimes embarrassing miscalculations. His nominee for labor secretary had to withdraw because of lack of support in the Senate for his confirmation, and Trump hastily named a replacement. His national security adviser Flynn resigned at Trump's request because Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with the Russian ambassador to the United States prior to Trump's inauguration. Trump's ban on travel into the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries was blocked by a judicial panel in San Francisco and he is trying to revive the idea with a new executive order. Overall, Trump regularly makes false statements and refuses to back away from them, such as his comment that he received more electoral votes than any president since Ronald Reagan. This was untrue.

Adding to his reputation for pugnacity, which troubles many Americans, Trump is escalating his brand of smackdown politics and increasing his scorched-earth tactics. He made this clear in his ultra-combative news conference a week ago and in subsequent comments, including his tweet last Friday that major news organizations have become "the enemy of the American people." He has shown little interest in reaching out to adversaries or widening his circle of support.

"He lives inside his head, where he runs the same continuous loop of conflict with people he turns into enemies for the purposes of his psychodrama," Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio told the New York Times. Referring to Trump's hyper-combative, grievance-filled 77-minute news conference Feb. 16, D'Antonio added: "It was true Trump. He thinks confidence is more important than competence and attitude matters more than aptitude. Others may be exhausted by the frenzy. You can see it in their drawn faces and pained expressions. Donald is energized by the fight. It also explains why he expects others to accept a bashing and be fine with him the next day."

Trump seems particularly angered by the media because major news outlets regularly contradict the image he tries to project of himself as a popular, successful, brilliant leader. He said the press's "level of dishonesty is out of control" and complained about the pervasiveness of "fake news."

He seems to be maintaining the support of die-hard Trump fans, who want him to continue confronting the establishment and end business as usual in the federal government. This appears to be a rationale behind his administration's laying the groundwork for deporting millions of undocumented workers, as Trump promised to do during the campaign. But he hasn't impressed the public at large. Many consider him an unpredictable narcissist who plays fast and loose with the truth and who won't admit mistakes or setbacks.

Trump's support is at a historic low compared with prior presidents during their first weeks in office. A recent Pew Research Center poll found 39 percent approve of his job performance (roughly the same as the 43 percent approval he received in this week's NBC/Survey Monkey poll) while 56 percent disapprove. President Barack Obama's job approval was much higher – at 64 percent in February of his first year in office. At a similar time, President George W. Bush had a 53 percent approval rating. President Bill Clinton's approval rating was 56 percent. President George H.W. Bush had a 63 percent approval rating, and President Ronald Reagan was at 55 percent.