After surviving dozens of anti-Trump protests, numerous Hillary Clinton smear campaigns, countless mainstream media attacks, and even opposition from his own party, President Donald Trump’s approval rating registered by likely voters reached 59 percent on Thursday.

Rasmussen Reports conducted a nationwide poll of American adults who are likely hit the ballot box, and of the nearly 60-percent approving of Trump, 44 percent said they “Strongly Approve” of is job performance, while just 31 percent say they “Strongly Disapprove” of his work so far in office.

Finding the difference between the two groups that feel strongly about the job the new commander-in-chief has done during his first week in office, Rasmussen researchers put his Presidential Approval Index rating at +13. Those compiling the data indicate that the results of the latest study are based on tracking polls consisting of 1,500 likely voters from coast to coast, with a +/-2.5 percentage point margin of air.

With Trump being just one week into his administration, these numbers are good news for the White House as it seeks the support of the American public over the next four years, Townhall reports.

First impressions

Pollsters from Rasmussen also asked respondents about the impression Trump made on them during last week his hand-crafted inaugural speech – which was delivered with the flavor past inaugurals from former United States presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy.

When inquiring about key segments of Trump’s inaugural speech those conducting the study discovered to what extent Americans agreed with the ideas, principles and statements he uttered from the steps of the nation’s capital.

A major finding from the survey divulged that voters overwhelmingly agree with Trump’s populist view of government.

Asked about their take on Trump’s statement when he told Americans that “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost,” Rasmussen found that an impressive 72 percent of participants agreed with his statement. A relatively small amount (17 percent) disagreed with this statement, while even fewer (11 percent) indicated that they were not sure about how they felt after hearing it.

Trying to revive America’s sense of patriotism and pride in its status as the world’s only superpower, the new commander-in-chief prepared Americans for what to expect over the next four years by telling them he was about to take them on a new course – one that is completely different from the direction in which former President Barack Obama took the U.S. over the past eight years, when America’s military and economic dominance in the world were played down.

“From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land,” the 70-year-old patriot vowed to a captive audience in Washington, D.C., alluding to the fact that many believed Obama put the interests of other nations before those of America. “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first.”

Those questioned about the president’s pledge generally took it in a positive way, with a majority (52 percent) of the poll’s participants agreeing with it, while 37 percent disagreed, and 11 percent were undecided.

Big plans for small government

Many Trump supporters have voiced their enthusiasm this week as the president continues to make good on his promises to cut taxes and reduce spending, including his promises to put an end to the federal funding of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood and stop refugee resettlement programs.

With one of Trump’s vows to voters on the campaign trail being to make big government small, Rasmussen’s finding that 54 percent of American voters favor a proposal that would cut spending up to 10 percent and cut staffing by up to 20 percent in a number of federal government agencies came of little surprise. Substantially less – about half the number of respondents (27 percent) – stood in opposition to such budget and staffing cuts, with 19 percent indicating that they were undecided over the issue.