Obama sees rising disapproval rating as his economic and foreign policies take a hit

US President Barack Obama's disapproval rating rose from 47 percent last month to 51 percent this month, with more Americans thumbing down his handling of the nation's economy and performance in foreign affairs, particularly his handling of the US relations with Iran and the campaign against the Islamic State.

The results came from the latest CNN/ORC Poll, conducted from Aug. 13-16 among 1,001 respondents.

On the state of the US economy, 52 percent of the respondents disapproved and 47 percent approved of Obama's policies, with his disapproval rating up from 47 percent last June.

A total of 56 percent said they disapproved of Obama's performance in foreign affairs while 43 percent approved.

Moreover, 60 percent disapproved of Obama's handling of the US relationship with Iran. He got the highest disapproval rating of 62 percent on his handling of the ISIS issue with only 33 percent favouring it.

When asked how things are in the US today, 52 percent of the respondents replied "badly."

Obama's increasing disapproval rating was largely due to the worsening of the already negative view of Obama by Republican voters. CNN said last July, 82 percent of Republicans disapproved of Obama. This rose to 89 percent in the new poll.

Among Democrats and independents, Obama's approval rating was steady at 85 percent of Democrats this month from 84 percent in July and 42 percent for independents in both polls.

When asked about Obama's policies, 52 percent of the respondents said these would move the US into the wrong direction while 45 percent said they were in the right direction.

Republican leaders also drew more negative than positive response from the public, with 55 percent saying the policies of Republican leaders in the US Senate and House are moving the US in the wrong direction. Only 39 percent said the Republican policies were moving in the right direction.

On the Iran deal, 50 percent said they favour easing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country accepting restrictions on its nuclear programme and allowing inspections. A total of 46 percent opposed.

Despite this, 56 percent said the US Congress should reject the Iran deal while 41 percent said it should approve it.

On the overall opinion of the Democratic and Republican parties, 54 percent had an unfavourable view and 41 percent had favorable view of the GOP while 48 percent had unfavourable view and 47 percent favourable view of the Democratic Party.

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