President Donald Trump's falling poll numbers prove that "he's not getting the benefit of the doubt he got before" from Americans — or even Republicans in Congress, conservative journalist Bill Kristol said Wednesday.
"That 33, 35, 36, 38 [percent] is really a low number," Kristol, editor-at-large for The Weekly Standard, told Erin Burnett on CNN.
Regarding how these numbers are affecting congressman and senators, Kristol thought they may be weighing whether they owe Trump their support, especially in light of his behavior.
“They may be politicians, but they do care about the country.”
A new Quinnipiac University poll Wednesday put Trump's approval rating at 33 percent, while Gallup's daily tracking survey puts the president's rate at 39 percent.
"They are looking at this White House and saying, 'Is anyone competent in charge there?'" Kristol said of Republicans.
"They have great hopes that John Kelly can do the job and I have great hopes, too."
Kelly, the former Homeland Security Director, was sworn in as chief of staff on Monday. He replaced Reince Priebus, who resigned last Thursday.
"But at the end of the day, the president is the president," Kristol told Burnett, referencing several controversies that have engulfed the administration.
"The president can't resist claiming to have made phone calls he didn't make or another Russia story breaks," he said.
"Senators look at that and think, 'We have to try to pass legislation that we believe in, but we're not going to give the president the benefit of the doubt.'"
Kristol even cited Trump's support Wednesday for merit-based immigration reform legislation proposed by two GOP senators that immediately came under widespread attack.
"That bill would have been received better if the White House hadn't been involved."
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