United Airlines' Approval Rating Is Higher Than Trump's RN

It's been a rough couple of weeks for United Airlines. First, video of a customer being physically dragged off a flight to free up a seat for crew members made the airline a target of heavy criticism. Then, reports that a scorpion dropped from an overhead bin and stung a passenger made it hard not to characterize United flights as the stuff of nightmares. It's safe to say there are few things that are as strongly disliked as United Airlines right now — unless, of course, you're President Donald Trump. A new poll has found that despite the airline's bad press lately, people still viewed United Airlines more favorably than Trump.

In a new national poll geared at measuring Democratic enthusiasm for upcoming 2018 elections, Public Policy Polling has found a majority of respondents hold a higher opinion of United Airlines than they do President Trump. According to the poll, 42 percent of those surveyed said they had "a higher opinion" of United Airlines, while just 40 percent said they had "a higher opinion" of President Trump. 18 percent of respondents reported being "not sure."

In breaking the question down further, the poll found 52 percent of those surveyed reported having an unfavorable opinion of President Trump, compared to 43 percent who viewed him favorably. Interestingly, only 47 percent of respondents appeared to view United Airlines unfavorably.

In a separate question, the poll found that 50 percent of respondents disapproved of President Trump's job performance, compared to 43 percent who approved. 7 percent said they were "not sure." Those numbers are consistent with Gallup's latest data on the president's approval rating.

However, the poll from Public Policy Polling found that despite Trump's low job approval, only 27 percent said they would rather have Vice President Mike Pence take over. 37 percent said they preferred Trump as president when the choice was between the two. 36 percent said they were not sure.

Public Policy Polling's latest poll surveyed 648 registered voters across the United States over the phone, or through an opt-in internet panel. Its main finding was that enthusiasm among Democratic voters in Georgia's and Kansas' recent special elections may be a national phenomenon — 63 percent of Democrats reported being "very excited" to vote in 2018 midterm elections. Comparatively, 52 percent of Republican respondents said they were "very excited" to vote.

"Democrats have a lot of reason for optimism looking toward 2018," Public Policy Polling President Dean Debnam said in a statement released alongside the survey results. "Their voters are considerably more fired up about voting right now."