Pelosi's Popularity Rising Amid Shutdown

In recent weeks, House speaker Nancy Pelosi has become ever more prominent, emerging as the face of opposition to Donald Trump. She has denied Trump $5.7 billion in funding for the wall, requested he pospone his State of the Union address and rejected his deal to make a compromise about dreamers in order to finally end the shutdown. As the impasse enters its fifth week, Pelosi is seeing her favorability ratings rise.

Trump is determined to secure funding for the border wall and while this may appease his core supporters, it might alienate his voters outside that core. It is also having the effect of uniting Democrats in opposition to his plan. Pelosi has been sending messages of sympathy to those effected by the shutdown, especially the DEA, TSA and immigration officials who are reponsible for keeping the country safe. Polling in mid-January found that a majority of the public points their finger at Trump and the GOP for the impasse rather than the Democrats in Congress.

Polling has also shown that Pelosi has experienced a noticeable increase in favorability since the Midterms and particularly since the stalemate started in Washington. 57 percent of the U.S. public had a negative view of the House speaker on election day and that has now fallen to 52 percent, according to Civiqs. During the same period, the share with a favorable opinion of Pelosi grew from 27 to 36 percent while Trump's approval has remained relatively stable.