New poll shows huge swing in public opinion about Trump - here are the details

A new Monmouth University poll shows that public perception of President Donald Trump and his administration have had a huge upswing to the positive.

Here are the details

Job approval for the president jumped to 42 percent from a low in December of 32 percent, a change of 10 percentage points. In December, 56 percent disapproved of his job performance, and that has dropped to 50 percent.

When asked if the president's first year has focused on issues important to most Americans, the percentage increased from July 2017 when 32 percent agreed, to 37 percent currently.

Tax plan approval

Many more Americans approve of the president's tax plan that was assailed by the Democrats as a cash grab for the rich. In December, only 26 percent approved, while 47 percent disapproved, for a difference of negative 21 points. But just a month later, 44 percent approve, and 44 percent disapprove — a net change of 21 points to the positive.

Democrats lose their edge

In the most telling indicator, Democrats lost a huge edge over Republicans from December on the generic ballot, where they saw a 15 percentage point advantage. That has collapsed to only 2 percentage points.

The poll appears to show a clear improvement in public opinion about the president and the Republican Party.

"The president devoted a significant amount of the State of the Union address touting a growing economy and his new tax plan," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. "While there is still some way to go to really win over the public, it looks like the needle has moved in the Republicans' direction since passage of the tax bill."

CNN's Ryan Struyk pointed out that this wasn't the only poll that showed a great improvement in the president's and Republicans' electoral approval.

Noah Rothman of Commentary said, "The Monmouth poll showed a massive 20-point spike in approval of the tax bill. Got Dems on their heels; can hammer them on hypocrisy and hysteria. But they cannot keep on message, because the megaphone just doesn’t seem to care."