It has been a week of brutal criticism aimed at President Donald Trump, but according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, Trump’s poll numbers are actually up.

“President Donald Trump’s approval rating edged higher during a week in which he faced withering criticism following a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling that he is positioned to weather the latest controversy sparked by his unusual brand of politics,” the WSJ reports.

They add this: “Mr. Trump’s job approval rose to 45% in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, the highest mark of his presidency and up 1 percentage point from June.”

In addition, a whopping 88 percent of Republicans approve of how Trump is doing his job.

Speaking during MSNBC panel Sunday night, Kevin McLaughlin of Cogent Strategies Principle explained that one reason his poll numbers didn’t sag is that Russia doesn’t seem to matter much in Trump World.

“When you look at tracking, Russia doesn’t register on the radar for what people care about,” McLaughlin said. “It is literally not even close to the top 15 issue.”

He also said while Trump’s Putin antics may have played badly in the Acela corridor of the East Coast, they do not translate in flyover country.

“When he goes out and does these events, I will call them, it actually helps him in flyover country,” McLaughlin said.

He added about Trump: “He defies political gravity.”

Watch above, via MSNBC

[image via screengrab]

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