Old enough to remember to like 2 years ago when the fashion was to treat the numbers among independents as the most important part of the poll. Now just the opposite and there are lots of headlines about a politician's ratings within his own party.
The other thing that gets neglected here is that the Republican Party is fairly small. Per Pew Research, the share of Americans who identify as Republican dropped to 26% in 2017. That's tied (with 2009) for their lowest share in the past 25 years. pewrsr.ch/2JMrmV2
Now, another 15% or so of Americans *lean* toward the GOP, meaning they don't call themselves Republicans but will say they're closer to the GOP if pressed. Finding out Trump's approval among *that* group would be interesting; they're more important to his long-term viability.
