Fox News and Fox Business have retracted statements made on-air by anchor Lou Dobbs, after Dobbs’ comments about President Trump’s “soaring” approval ratings were debunked.
Dobbs was discussing a recent Georgetown Politics poll showing Trump’s job approval rating on the economy at 58%, adding that the president’s overall approval rating was “soaring” at 55%. The latter figure was significantly higher than other polls showing the president in the low 40s.
“The president’s victories are showing up in the polls according to a Georgetown University poll,” Dobbs told his viewers Wednesday. “The president’s overall approval is now 55% — let’s hear that, 55% — and approval rating for president’s handling of the economy, a robust 58%. Fifty-five percent is pretty robust too, don’t you think?”
President Donald Trump later posted a tweet celebrating his poll numbers along with the Fox Business graphic, showing the incorrect numbers.
“Great news! #MAGA,” the president tweeted along with a screenshot from “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” The graphic read “Trump’s soaring approval,” which was above statistics that read “55% overall” and “58% economy.” It cited Georgetown Politics as the source.
The poll did find that 58% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. But only 43% approved of the job he is doing while 52% disapproved.
On Thursday, Fox Business Network’s Blake Burman delivered an on-air retraction, telling viewers, “It’s been a quiet start to the day for President Trump, though he did send out a tweet this morning from the Lou Dobbs show last night on Fox Business. That tweet featured a poll that was not entirely accurate, which Fox Business would like to correct.”
“According to a poll from Georgetown University, 58% of respondents approved of the president’s handling of the economy. That portion of the graphic was right, ” he went on to say. “However, the graphic also showed that 55% of the respondents approve of the president, that number is not correct. The 55% number was those who have an unfavorable impression of President Trump.” (The poll actually said that 52% of respondents disapproved of the job Trump is doing as president.)
Meanwhile, Fox News White House correspondent Kevin Corke also noted the error, citing “a typo in that graphic” presented by Fox Business, according to video published by The Daily Beast on Thursday.
Mo Elleithee, the Georgetown University politics institute director, also corrected the mistake on Twitter.
“I’m the Director of @GUPolitics & this graphic is incorrect,” Elleithee tweeted. “The Battleground Poll shows 58% approval on the economy. But it shows only 43% overall approval, & 52% disapproval.”