As the British royal family smiled upon President Donald Trump this week, so did the American people.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll showed that on Friday, 53 percent of those polled said they approved of Trump’s performance as president, as noted by the Daily Caller.
The survey, which tracks opinions of 300 likely U.S. voters, found 46 percent disapproved of Trump’s performance.
Friday’s poll was a major jump from Monday, when Trump’s approval rating was at 48 percent and his disapproval rating was at 51 percent.
Geez.
Trump +7 today.
Was -3 just four days ago.
— Mark Mitchell, Rasmussen Reports (@honestpollster) September 19, 2025
That means Trump net approval went up 10 points, from a negative of three points to a positive of seven points.
As has been the case with Trump throughout his political career, the president engenders strong feelings on both ends of the spectrum. Rasmussen found 34 percent of those surveyed “strongly approve” of Trump’s job performance, while 37 percent “strongly disapprove.”
During a news conference marking the end of his state visit to Great Britain, Trump said the U.S. wants to undo some of the damage done by the Biden administration when Afghanistan fell in 2021 by regaining control of Bagram Airfield, according to NBC.
“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said, later adding, “We want that base back.”
Trump said the base’s location north of Kabul makes strategic sense for America.
“It’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Trump said at the news conference.
Later on Air Force One, Trump said the base was “one of the most powerful bases in the world in terms of runway strength and length,” adding “You could land anything there.”
He stressed the location was “an hour away from where they make their missiles — China.”
Zakir Jalaly, an official at the Afghan Foreign Ministry, poured cold water on the idea.
“Afghanistan and the U.S. need to interact with each other and can have economic and political relations based on mutual respect and common interests,” Jalaly said.
“The Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but the door is open for further interaction,” he said.
China would also object, one commentator said.
“Even if the Taliban considered this, China most certainly would do everything it can to entice the Taliban to keep the U.S. out of Afghanistan and has far more leverage and enticements to make this happen,” Bill Roggio, editor of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.