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President Trump likes to trumpet his "tremendous" support and strong base, but polls show that his approval rating is declining, even among key demographics that voted for him in 2016. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Donald Trump won the presidency on the strength of 63 million votes across the United States. More specifically, he won it on the strength of 78,000 votes in three states. His narrow wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin 0.06 percent of all the votes cast gave him the electoral college majority he needed to be inaugurated, despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes overall.

On Sunday, NBC News released new polling conducted by Marist. As is the case in most other places in the country, Trumps approval rating in those states has sagged, with only about a third of adults approving of his job performance. Nearly 4 in 10 adults in each state view him with strong disapproval.

What jumped out at me in these poll results, though, was another set of numbers. In each state, more than 6 in 10 adults say that Trumps conduct as president leaves them embarrassed, while only about a quarter say that Trump makes them proud.

Unsurprisingly, Republicans and those who voted for Trump are more likely to say that theyre proud than embarrassed.

But notice an interesting detail on that graph: About 1 in 5 Trump voters and 3 in 10 Republicans agree with the majority that his conduct has been embarrassing.

Even more interesting is that white working-class respondents the group thats often given credit (or, in some quarters, blame) for Trumps victory is more likely to say that they are embarrassed than proud.

In that group, Trumps overall approval rating is underwater in both Michigan and Wisconsin; in Pennsylvania, his approval rating with whites without college degrees is only twopoints higher than his disapproval.

The motivating issue for those voters was ostensibly concern over the economy. On economic issues, Trump fares decently, with more people in each state* generally saying that Trumps making the economy stronger than say hes making it weaker.

Notice, though, that the opinions of white working-class residents of each state align more with the overall views of Trump than with his base of support. That, of course, is because a lot of the white working-class voters in these three states are Democrats who, in elections past, helped keep the states blue. But Trumps argument has been that this is the core of his base of support. At this point, it doesnt look like it.

On manufacturing, we see the same split between the population and Trumps base: General skepticism that Trump is succeeding on manufacturing, with working-class whites in each state leaning more toward the overall opinion.

When we look at the proud-versus-embarrassed question this way, the split is clear.

Marist asked another question thats revelatory. Of Trump voters, the pollster asked why they supported him, because they liked Trump or because they disliked Clinton? At least 30 percent in each state said it was because they didnt like Clinton.

Now, this may be after-the-fact rationalization, an excuse offered for supporting a candidate whom they now find embarrassing. But given that Trump won Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by 0.22, 0.72 and 0.76 percentage points, respectively, the idea that 2 in 10 now say theyre embarrassed by him and 3 in 10 of his supporters in each state now say that they only did it because they hated Clinton? Thats not a recipe for reelection.

* Weve made Michigans columns in the graphs a vibrant shade of scarlet.

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In the states that gave Trump the presidency, 3 in 10 Republicans are embarrassed by him - Washington Post

The Trump International Hotel inside the federally owned Old Post Office building in downtown D.C. has been mired in controversy even before opening its doors. (Claritza Jimenez,Osman Malik,Jonathan O'Connell/The Washington Post)

The Post reports this morning that more than two dozenRepublican Party committeeshave spent nearly half a million dollars holding campaign fundraisers at hotels and golf coursesowned by President Trump since he took office in January.Together with $793,000 that Republican committees paid to Trump companies in rent and legal fees, Trump-owned companies have raked in $1.3 million in 2017 from the presidents own party.

The Republican National Committee, congressional campaigns, state parties and the Republican Governors Association all paid Trump properties to host fundraisers, simultaneously using the Trump brand to fill campaign coffers and line the first familys pockets.

Its just the latest piece of mounting evidence that Trump and the companies in which he maintains a stake and that his family members still control are profiting off of his presidency,creating conflicts of interest never before seen in the Oval Office. Because weve never had a president with such wide-ranging business interests and complete unwillingness to avoid conflicts of interest, Trump is taking the country into uncharted waters and we are likely only seeing the tip of the iceberg of the ways in which he willprofit from his businesses by using his presidency as a marketing tool.

Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics and now a senior director at the Campaign Legal Center, told me in an interview that the new revelations are amazing and terrible. Although technically not covered by conflicts of interest laws that govern the conduct of other federal employees,Shaub said, the president should act as though he is. By refusing to conduct himself in accordance with these ethical norms, Trump is signaling that hes above them actions that undermine the publics commitment to the democratic values that these norms represent.

Now we learn that, by renting out Trump properties for its own high-priced fundraisers, the Republican Party is dancing on the grave of those norms, as it raises campaign funds while helping the Trump family profit.

As the top government ethics chief (a position he resigned last month), Shaub had called on Trump to divest from his many business holdings before he assumed office in January. Trump refused to relinquish his financial stake in his companies, although he left the day-to-day operations of his companies in the hands of his sons Eric and Donald Jr.

Under Trumps presidency, the lavish, pricey Trump International Hotel has become a hub of activity for West Wing insiders and outsiders seeking to gain access to the Trump administration, an arrangement that has proved lucrative for the first family. As The Post reported this month, Trump family businesses earned nearly $2 million in profits from the hotel alone in just four months this year.

Trump could have avoided the appearance of a conflict even absent divestment in his holdings, Shaub pointed out, if he haddirected Republicans to refrain from using Trump-branded properties for such political activities. Instead, he seems to be tacitlyencouraging it, Shaub notes, creating the appearance that he is determined to make as much money as he can off this presidency.

And the Republican Party appears to be taking notice it looks to be an active participant as the president leverages his power to increase his familys company profits. In June, the Republican National Committeeused Trumps Washington hotelfor a fundraiser, and last month paidthe hotel $122,000 for use of the venue, according to The Posts analysis of campaign finance records. Attendees paid $35,000 each to attend the fundraiser, which raised $10 million for the RNC and Trumps reelection committee thus enriching both the campaign coffers and the Trump hotel.

The Republican party committees and politicians hosting fundraisers at Trump-branded properties are complicit in lining his pockets to curry favor with him or to promote his brand, said Shaub. All of this is just monetizing the presidency at our expense, frankly. By attaching his name and cachet to staying at, golfing at or hosting a large event at a Trump-branded property, Trump is using the office to enrich himself and his family, and, seemingly, to encourage Republican political committees to help do the same.

Shaub pointed out that, by marketing and profiting from his own properties while in office, Trump, along with Republican officials and leaders, is modeling the worst behavior for government employees, byundermining the ethics norms that distinguish a democracy from a kleptocracy. And Republican officials and leaders are helping him do it.

The real recourse from Trumps shredding of these norms has to come from the branches of government that act as a check on the executive. But ones confidence in those branches is diminished by their apparent lack of commitment to upholding the norms themselves. After all, we have now learned that Republican officeholders and party officials apparently have no compunction about holding fundraisers at Trump properties. With Trumps allies in his party and in government aiding and abetting him, he looks poised to continue to exploitthe office of the leader of the free world for profit and how successful he will be in this regard is anyones guess.

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Trump and Republicans break impressive new ground in the erosion of our norms - Washington Post

ANDERSON Democrat Joe Donnelly kicked off the second day of his re-election bid to the U.S. Senate proclaiming that the nation is stronger when everyone all works together.

Donnelly drew a crowd on Monday of more than 100 local Democrats at the United Auto Workers Local 1963 union hall in Anderson.

Before the rally began, members of the UAW asked several Republicans at the event to leave the parking lot because it was a private event.

Donnelly is seeking a second term in the U.S. Senate in what is expected to be a hotly contested election with several Republicans already announced as potential candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the May primary.

In his announcement comments, Donnelly stressed how he has worked with Republicans in Indiana and in the Congress to make the world safer and to bring prosperity to the nation.

There is no place for white supremacy, neo-Nazis and the KKK in the United States, Donnelly said of the recent events around the country. Thats not who we are and not what weve ever been. Were in this together.

Donnelly said the nation is stronger when everyone works together.

Provide a change for everyones hopes and dreams to come true, he said. Thats why Im running for re-election.

Donnelly said his job is to be a voice in Washington for Indiana farmers, small-business owners and working mothers.

There is a lot more wisdom in Anderson, Indiana, than there is in Washington, D.C., he said. Our best days are ahead, if we work together.

Donnelly said he worked with Republicans to provide more services to veterans and to combat the opiate epidemic that is sweeping the nation.

When asked if the 2018 election would be a referendum on the administration of President Donald Trump, Donnelly said he hopes it is a referendum on Indiana.

Its our Senate seat, he said. My focus is on Indiana.

Donnelly admitted it will be a tough race in 2018 because Indiana tends to lean Republican.

But all of the folks in our state are focused on the issues, he said. Were not a state that is focused on the next trend or next fancy thing. Our focus is on better jobs and the opportunities that are created.

Donnelly said he believes voters who cast ballots in 2016 for Republican Donald Trump are Joe Donnelly voters.

We all want the same thing: good jobs, a good education for our children, and that their voice counts.

My job is to work with the president, he said. When the president wants to work with me to end outsourcing of jobs and to end the opiate epidemic, Im on board. Its always better to work together."

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.

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Donnelly vows to work with Republicans, Trump - The Herald Bulletin

Wajahat Ali, a political commentator, Emmy-nominated producer, playwright and attorney, tells the scary story of America today. (Adriana Usero,Kate Woodsome/The Washington Post)

The affront that is the Trump presidency is a violation of everything I learned about morality and reverence for the Constitution and the presidency from Republicans. The party that spent my entire life lecturing liberals and Democrats on the finer points of being an upstanding American and upholding the honor and dignity of the presidency cant speak with a clear, unified voice when it comes to President Trump.

[The nation can only weep]

Democrats were soft on crime. Democrats werent serious about that bear in the woods, otherwise known as Russia. The late Jerry Falwell thundered about moral decline from his perches at the Moral Majority and Liberty University (nee Lynchburg Baptist College), helping Republicans win elective office all the way up to the Oval. And President Bill Clinton was impeached nearly 20 years ago for his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Because of Clintonsreprehensible conduct, then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush rallied Republicans by promising to restore honor and dignity to the White House.

[PODCAST: How can conservatives support a thrice-married Trump?]

Trump has used every minute of his 213 days in the White House (as of this writing) to upend all of those Republican lessons I learned. After running an overtly racist and xenophobic campaign for the presidency, Trump squandered its moral authority with a 20-minute celebration of white supremacy that gave aid and comfort to bigots, Nazis and white supremacists everywhere. He didnt even give a full-throated condemnation of the hate in Charlottesville that led to the death ofHeather Heyer. Talk about being soft on crime. And as shameful and un-American as that is, theres Falwells namesakeon TV on Sunday,uttering nonsense like this in support of the president:

One of the reasons I support him is because he doesnt say whats politically correct, he says whats in his heart. What he believes. And sometimes that gets him in trouble. But he does not have a racist bone in his body. I know him well.

If Trump does not have a racist bone in his body, then my eyes and ears have been lying to me all these years.

[Trump is a cancer on the presidency.]

Using dozens of clips from President Trump's speeches, The Post Editorial Board reimagines his disastrous Aug. 12 address. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

Listen, Ive already had my say about Trump and Charlottesville. How his coddling of the Confederacy and those who revere its treason make him unfit to be president. That many Republicans, including our 41st and 43rd presidents, have stepped forward to condemn what the 45th would not doesnt leave me entirely despairing of the sorry state of the GOP and our national psyche.

So, my message is for all those Republicans and conservatives rallying around Trump and his offensive both sides idiocy and the racism it supports: Youre morally bankrupt. Your lectures and righteous indignation are meaningless in the age of Trump. And you have harangued me and other liberals on our morality and patriotism for the last time.

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @Capehartj Subscribe to Cape Up, Jonathan Capeharts weekly podcast.

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Republicans and conservatives defending Trump on Charlottesville are morally bankrupt - Washington Post

Leading Republicans on Monday praised President Trump's new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, including his call for a major shift from "arbitrary timetables" for American involvement to a conditions-based approach in the region.

In prime-time remarks from Fort Myer, Va., the president discussed his evolving views on the 16-year conflict in Afghanistan and his plan for "principled realism" moving forward. Trump said his administration's primary goal in Afghanistan is to avoid leaving the same type of vacuum that gave rise to the Islamic State terror group in Iraq, though he declined to specify how many additional American troops will be deployed to boost existing counter-terrorism operations.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who has been critical of Trump's previous failure to articulate a strategy, said the president took "a big step in the right direction" during his speech Monday.

"I believe the President is now moving us well beyond the prior administration's failed strategy of merely postponing defeat," McCain said in a statement, noting that Trump now faces the task of keeping "the right level of effort, in the right places, with the right authorities and resources [to] see this conflict through to success."

"To do this, the President must conduct himself as a wartime commander-in-chief. He must speak regularly to the American people, and to those waging this war on their behalf, about why we are fighting, why the additional sacrifices are worth it, and how we will success," said McCain, a naval aviator who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war.

Trump admitted Monday that his position on Afghanistan changed as he began to grasp his duties as president. It was a rare moment of self-reflection for the normally brash leader one that congressional Republicans like House Speaker Paul Ryan took note of.

"I was actually pleased with the way he went about making this decision," Ryan, R-Wis., told CNN. "I think I heard a new Trump strategy, or a new doctrine so to speak."

For the White House, the mostly positive reception to the president's speech was a welcome change from the barrage of criticism officials have faced in the wake of Trump's response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va. Republican lawmakers who criticized the president just last week were quick to praise him on Monday.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who described the president's speech as "excellent," said Trump's decision to base strategy "on the conditions on the ground not on arbitrary numbers and timelines is the right approach."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., commended Trump for "refocusing our military efforts and supporting our brave warfighters by laying out a strategy that will help produce a more secure, stable, and sovereign Afghanistan."

And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who the president accused of spreading a "disgusting lie" about himself last week, said Trump proved Monday that he has "the smarts and the moral courage to listen to his generals and take their advice."

"I am very pleased with this plan, and I am very proud of my president," Graham said in an appearance on Fox News.

"The President has outlined an important change from an approach driven by arbitrary deadlines to a strategy based on conditions on the ground," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a statement. "He also made clear that the Afghan government needs to do its part in defending its people, ending havens for terrorists, and curtailing corruption."

Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump made it clear that congressional Republicans "act as soon as possible to repeal the sequestration of defense in order to appropriately fund our military" and give American servicemen the resources they need to carry out their missions.

But not everyone was pleased with the Afghanistan strategy Trump described in his remarks.

"I don't trust him," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, a ranking Democratic on the House Intelligence panel. "Sixteen years of war in Afghanistan is enough. Time for Donald Trump to come to Congress for a vote on further action."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted that the president's speech was "low on details but raises serious questions about the future."

"There's nothing hasty about ending America's longest war," tweeted Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., a rare GOP dissenter. Amash said Trump "bowed to the military-industrial establishment" and "doubled down on perpetual war."

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Republicans praise Trump for charting new course on Afghanistan - Washington Examiner