President Donald Trump's poll numbers are back in the news, but not for the reasons they were in the past. The old narrative went something like this: No matter what the media, party leaders or foreign officials say about this president, his base of support among a white working class raging against "elitists" and "political correctness" is rock steady. Though he was unpopular before the election, and unpopular after inauguration, Trump's unpopularity seemed to be wholly immutable. It was enough for many to think the president had met his polling "floor."

Indeed, Trump's critics reinforced this view, especially liberal critics who believed his victory over Hillary Clinton stemmed from race-baiting, misogyny and white identity politics. That narrative went something like this: No matter what the media, party leaders or foreign officials say about this president, unreconstructed racists (about 40 percent) will support a president who advances the cause of white supremacy.

I would count myself among those liberal critics for the most part, and we may be correct in the long run. But for now, new polling suggests we reconsider our confidence in that assertion. According to new numbers from CNN, 36 percent of Americans find Trump honest and trustworthy while an astounding 30 percent find him to be admirable. This appears to be an accelerating trend, one that I find hard to square with the assertion that his base will be with him no matter what.

Consider also the timing. In recent weeks, the administration has announced that it would roll back civil rights protections in the U.S. Department of Justice, support legislation to cut legal immigration in half and crack down on so-called sanctuary cities. These policy shifts are in line with Trump's campaign promises. These are deeds, not words, that should hearten or inspire his base. Yet Trump's support is softening. Why?

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I think there are three overarching reasons.

One is that Hillary Clinton, despite Fox News' urging to the contrary, is finally fading in the popular imagination. Trump's image was always informed by hers. He is not her, and for a lot of voters, that was enough. More than six months into his presidency, however, supporters can no longer rationalize Trump's ineptitude by saying, "At least he's not Hillary." Trump must deliver on his promises and patience is running out.

Two is that Trump isn't delivering. He promised jobs. He vowed a return to prosperity. While the labor market is tightening, and thus putting upward pressure on wages, wages are not rising as fast as they ought to. Meanwhile, Trump is taking credit for an economy in which wages are not rising as fast as they ought to. This is going to, at the very least, create cognitive dissonance among voters who honestly thought he'd restore good times.

Of the three legs of his campaign – immigration, trade and jobs – immigration is the only area in which his administration is making progress (if you define "progress" as the slow-motion disaster of deporting 11 million human beings). With the exception of abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Trump has stalled or reversed himself on international trade. As for employment, he has offered theater, not substance. He could have pushed for $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, thus pinning Congressional Democrats against their stated concern for jobs and public works. Instead, he insisted the Republicans tackle Obamacare, thus squandering what little capital he had as a president who did not win the popular vote.

Finally, after the Republicans failed to repeal and replace Obamacare, and after seven months in which the president has not enacted one major piece of legislation, it has become clear to even his most ardent supporters that the president is not as strong as he makes himself out to be. Indeed, even fellow Republicans are smelling blood. Just 31 percent of Americans, according to CNN, approve of his handling of health care. In other words, it's becoming clear: the president is weak.

Polling is only one indicator that Trump is fast-becoming a paper tiger in the public's view. So are reports that the GOP is making contingency plans in case he is too encumbered to run for re-election or is removed from office after special counsel Robert Mueller finishes investigating him for obstruction of justice, among other things; comments by billionaire backers saying the Trump administration is incompetent; statements by GOP senators implying that they are ignoring the president's demands; and the fact that Russia continues influencing Trump's thinking by bombarding his Twitter feed with propaganda.

It's hard to overstate the challenge of overcoming a negative public image. Basically, leaders don't recover. Fair or not, Jimmy Carter was seen as weak. Though he did a lot to restore public trust after Watergate, it wasn't enough. This is especially important to a man like Trump, whose brand is strength. It takes just one thread for a public relations apparatus to unravel.