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Concord, N.H. - The announcement that President Trump would be visiting New Hampshire comes just months after Granite Staters were asked about the most important country America faces. Their answer? Donald J. Trump. More Granite Staters (17%) said Trump was the country's biggest problem than any other issue, the second most being the division & partisanship Trump has sewn as president (13%). This explains why, in a February poll, President Trump has a 35% approval rating in the state with 59% of Granite Staters disapproving of his performance. His approval rating drops to 33% among New Hampshire's registered Independents. Why has Trump been so unpopular in New Hampshire? Take your pick:
Is it that, in his first month in office, Trump revived Governor Sununu's false claim that New Hampshire Democrats were busing in voters illegally from Massachusetts & Connecticut?
Is it his private conversation in which he told the Mexican President that he won New Hampshire (he didn't) because it was a "drug-infested den?"
Is it his often-reported neglect for the opioid crisis after making it a major campaign promise, from threatening to cut Medicaid by $800B & sunset Medicaid expansion, repeal ACA protections, refuse to fulfill CSR payments, underfund the ONDCP by 95%, drug prevention by 11%, SUD & mental health by $400 million, announce a Public Health Emergency with only $57,000 in the fund, refuse to change the funding formula for the CURES Act, appoint Kellyanne Conway as opioid czar, quietly dismantle the ONDCP & organize a "sham" commission with no Granite Staters on it?
Is it his threatened tariffs that would jeopardize New Hampshire's relationship with a major trading partner and neighbor in Canada?
Is it his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, making America the only country in the world not signed onto the agreement, one which preserves New Hampshire's natural resources?
Is it his threat of offshore drilling off the coast of New England that could contaminate New Hampshire's waters and hurt a number of important industries?
Is it his attacks on immigrants, which have resulted in potentially unconstitutional ICE immigration checkpoints on New Hampshire's highways, threatened the security of legal Indonesian immigrants in the state, and created uncertainty for Granite Staters with relatives overseas with the Muslim Ban?
NHDP Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement: "New Hampshire wants President Trump to visit just as little as Trump wants to come to our "drug-infested den" of a state. Trump has made his middling opinion of New Hampshire clear and so have Granite Staters who have repeatedly given Trump low approval ratings and declared him the most important problem facing America. This visit reeks of a hollow political stunt designed to help his dismal polling numbers in a crucial swing state. Despite the stated purpose of his visit, this trip is a waste of taxpayer dollars that will bring no serious relief or additional funds to combat the opioid crisis. If he were so desperate for a New Hampshire photo-op, he'd be better off staying at home and demanding his most adoring lackey, Governor Sununu, come to visit for the 11th time in a year. Sununu would most assuredly accept."
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