WASHINGTON – Two new polls show President Donald Trump's job approval rating has fallen below 40 percent – including one that shows a majority believe he is unfit for the office – as the beleaguered president defends against reports of a White House in chaos, even as the American economy surges.

A CNN poll released Monday found Trump's approval had dropped to 36 percent, down from 42 percent in August. And the same day, a poll from Quinnipiac University found Trump's approval at 38 percent, down from 41 percent the month before.

The Quinnipiac poll also found that 55 percent of Americans believe Trump is not fit to serve as president, while 41 percent said he is capable. Sixty-five percent said the president is not level-headed and 42 percent said he is not mentally stable.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted from Sept. 6 to 9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.

The CNN poll, which was also conducted from Sept. 6 to Sept. 9 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent, found only 32 percent of respondents who believe Trump is "honest and trustworthy." He got his highest marks for his handling of the economy at 49 percent, while 35-36 percent gave a thumbs up on his handling of immigration, foreign affairs and foreign trade.

The weekly approval poll from Gallup found Trump's approval slightly higher at 40 percent, while Rasmussen Reports, which consistently reports higher approval ratings for the president than other polling outfits, put him at 47 percent.

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Last week, an ABC News-Washington Post poll found Trump's approval rating was 36 percent, matching his previous low in their polling. It put his disapproval number at 60 percent, a new high.

The Real Clear Politics average put his approval at 41 percent, its lowest point since March when Trump began to ramp up sanctions on imports into the U.S.

With an expanding economy and low unemployment, the president has expressed frustration at the amount of negative news coverage swirling around his administration (including the ubiquitous attacks on "fake news").

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But a stream of reports describing White House disorder and infighting, from secret recordings by former adviser Omarosa Maginault Newman to the anonymous New York Times op-ed and Bob Woodward's new book, have drowned out much of the positive economic data.

For example, although the Quinnipiac poll results were negative for Trump, 70 percent of the respondents described the state of the economy as good or excellent.

Republican support for the president remains strong. A majority (52 percent) of Republican respondents to Quinnipiac said they do not believe the allegations from the purported senior White House official in the Times op-ed.

His approval within his party was at 84 percent with Republicans in the Quinnipiac poll and at 82 percent in the one from CNN.

"The economy booms, but President Donald Trump's numbers are a bust. An anemic 38 percent approval rating is compounded by lows on honesty, strength and intelligence," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "But Trump's base remains loyal."