AMERICANS LIKED OBAMA BUT DIDN’T LIKE HIS POLICIES; WITH TRUMP IT SEEMS TO BE THE REVERSE: Many Americans Disapprove of Trump but Are Open to His Agenda, Poll Finds: WSJ/NBC News poll shows negative views at a historically high level for a new president but support from a ‘critical middle.’

President Donald Trump remains a historically divisive figure after one month on the job, despite growing optimism about the economy and support from a cross-section of Americans who either opposed his candidacy or backed it reluctantly, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The poll found that 44% of Americans approve of Mr. Trump’s job performance, while 48% disapprove, making him the first president of the post-World War II era with a net negative approval rating in his first gauge of public opinion.

New presidents traditionally have enjoyed a postelection honeymoon with Americans. It took Barack Obama 32 months in office before his approval fell enough to match Mr. Trump’s current net rating of negative four. It was 41 months before George W. Bush’s dropped that far.

Mr. Trump’s approval rating may have been worse were it not for support from a surprising corner of the electorate. His job performance won positive reviews from 55% of respondents who had voted for a third-party candidate in November, who didn’t vote at all or said they supported Mr. Trump mostly to oppose Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The Journal/NBC News pollsters called this group “the critical middle” in the nation’s partisan warfare and said it accounted for just over one-third of all respondents.

All the media hate for Trump — and hate it is, in distinct contrast to the fawning over Obama — drives his favorables down, though with people who hate the press, a nontrivial demographic, it probably has the opposite effect.

Plus: “Asked about the course of the country, 40% said the nation is headed in the right direction. That is up from 33% in December, and 18% in July.”