Updated July 17, 2017 08:05:22

At this point in their respective presidencies, almost every leader since Harry Truman has been enjoying a honeymoon with approvals in the high 50s and up.

The exceptions are Gerald Ford — who had just pardoned the disgraced Richard Nixon — and Bill Clinton, who recovered and left office with approvals at 66 per cent.

Now, Donald Trump has set a record low of 36 per cent and record-high disapprovals of 58 per cent.

On the upside, the ABC News (America)/Washington Post poll shows Mr Trump's base remains loyal.

But on the downside, his support is slipping among voters who supported him despite having previously voted for Barack Obama.

The President responded to the poll on Twitter, saying:

It wasn't. In fact, its last poll before the vote was off by just two points from the final result.

Obamacare yet to be repealed

From here, it's hard to see when, or how, Mr Trump might be able to pull off a Clinton-style comeback.

He is yet to sign any major piece of legislation, let alone the key reform he made throughout the campaign: the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.

Before the election, he told crowds across the US it would happen "immediately". It hasn't.

It's stuck in the Senate with both moderate and conservative Republicans yet to commit to a bill that is also deeply unpopular with voters.

The White House says Mr Trump has been making calls all weekend trying to convince wavering Republican senators to support it.

But the President has also been preparing the ground to shift the blame to them if it fails.

"I will be very angry," he said last week in one of his now-rare interviews.

"I hope they do it. They've been promising it for years."

One key problem is that Mr Trump hasn't been out there campaigning for it, as he did so effectively during the election.

An administration under siege

His administration is under siege over his campaign team's contacts with Russian nationals and their constantly changing explanations, as new details are revealed almost daily.

And it's not just health care that's stalled. Everything from tax reform to North Korea is being sidelined.

This is supposed to be Mr Trump's Made in America week to promote local manufacturing.

But even that is becoming a PR problem of the White House's own making.

The Washington Post has revealed that his daughter Ivanka's fashion label relies exclusively on foreign factories employing low-wage workers in countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and China.

But it's Russia that will dominate the news again this week as members of Donald Trump's campaign team, including possibly his son Donald Trump Jr, begin appearing before Congress to answer questions about their contacts with Russian officials — possibly under oath.

Some Republicans are now openly venting their frustration with the administration. Many face re-election next year.

If Mr Trump's strategy is to shunt the blame for his failed agenda to them, a comeback becomes even more unlikely.

Topics: donald-trump, world-politics, united-states

First posted July 17, 2017 07:08:23