Trump goes bonkers

Not for the first time, but still.

Threatens horrible military action against Iran, denounces claims of Russian election interference as a hoax (again), attacks weak Obama and crooked Hillary (again) vents anger in private that NK isn't moving toward denuclearization.

Trump is lashing out all over

And his party loves him.

Eighty-eight percent of Republican voters in the poll approve of Trump’s job — the highest of his presidency — and 29 percent of all voters strongly approve of his performance, which is another high for him. 

“The more Trump gets criticized by the media, the more his base seems to rally behind him,” says Democratic pollster Fred Yang, who co-conducted the NBC/WSJ poll with the Republican team from Public Opinion Strategies.

Trump’s approval rating in the poll is 45 percent among all registered voters (up 1 point from June), while 52 percent disapprove, including 44 percent who do so strongly.

The bad news for the president is that his standing — plus the GOP’s — is now worse with independents than it was a month ago. 

Just 36 percent of independents approve of Trump’s job (down 7 points from June). 

What’s more, independents prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress by more than 20 points, 48 percent to 26 percent. 

In June, the Dem lead among indies was just 7 points, 39 percent to 32 percent.

Overall, Democrats hold a 6-point lead in congressional preference, 49 percent to 43 percent. 

That’s down from their 10-point advantage last month, 50 percent to 40 percent, though the movement is well within the poll’s margin of error. 

Democrats continue to enjoy an enthusiasm advantage heading into the midterms: 65 percent of Democratic voters have a high level of interest in the upcoming elections — registering either a “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale — compared with 49 percent of GOP voters.

So less than four months until the midterm elections, two things are going on, according to this poll: Trump’s hold on the GOP base is getting stronger, while his relationship with independents and the middle of the electorate is getting weaker.