As the British royal family welcomed President Donald Trump this week, new polling showed a majority of Americans also giving him their approval.The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll found Friday that 53 percent of likely U.S. voters approved of Trump’s performance, The Daily Caller reported. The pollster noted Trump’s current numbers mark a stunning double-digit shift in a matter of a few days.
On Monday, only 48 percent approved of Trump’s performance, while 51 percent disapproved.
That shift means Trump’s net approval rating moved up 10 points in just a few days, from minus three to plus seven.
As has long been the case with Trump, voters expressed strong opinions at both ends of the spectrum.
Rasmussen found 34 percent of respondents “strongly approve” of Trump’s job performance, while 37 percent said they “strongly disapprove.”
The polling boost coincided with Trump’s high-profile state visit to the United Kingdom.
During a press conference marking the end of the trip, Trump made headlines by calling for the U.S. to reestablish control of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, which was abandoned during the Biden administration’s withdrawal in 2021.
“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump told reporters, according to NBC.
“We want that base back,” he added.
Trump explained that the air base’s location north of Kabul makes it strategically valuable to America.
“It’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Trump said.
Later, speaking aboard Air Force One, the president described the site as “one of the most powerful bases in the world in terms of runway strength and length.”
“You could land anything there,” Trump said, emphasizing its military utility.
He added that the base’s proximity to China’s weapons facilities increases its strategic importance.
“It’s an hour away from where they make their missiles — China,” Trump said.
Officials in Afghanistan quickly rejected the idea.
Zakir Jalaly, an Afghan Foreign Ministry official, said his country had no interest in resuming a U.S. military presence.
“Afghanistan and the U.S. need to interact with each other and can have economic and political relations based on mutual respect and common interests,” Jalaly said.
“The Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but the door is open for further interaction,” he added.
Analysts also noted that China would strongly oppose any U.S. return to Afghanistan.
“Even if the Taliban considered this, China most certainly would do everything it can to entice the Taliban to keep the U.S. out of Afghanistan and has far more leverage and enticements to make this happen,” Bill Roggio, editor of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, told NBC.
Meanwhile, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were aboard Marine One when it had to make an emergency landing in the UK.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump and Melania had to switch helicopters because of a “hydraulics issue.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, the pilots landed at a local airfield before reaching Stansted Airport,” Karoline Leavitt said. “The president and first lady safely boarded the support helicopter.”
The Marine One trip was only supposed to last 20 minutes, from the prime minister’s Chequers landing zone to Stansted Airport. However, the president and first lady took almost 40 minutes to reach the airport due to the issue.
King Charles II and Queen Camilla are welcoming the Trumps for an unusual second state visit, where they will talk about a substantial U.S. investment in the U.K.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised a £250 billion mutual investment package between the UK and President Trump called the US-UK alliance as the most “natural partnership in the world.”
Trump spent the morning at Windsor Castle with King Charles III. Then he flew by Marine One to Chequers, the prime minister’s country home.
