America's twenty-second week under the Trump administration has seen what is reportedly the current President's lowest rating in since the election. According to phone polls conducted by CBS, Trump reached an all-time low of 36% percent approval, with a significant decrease in Republican support.

While a loss in support isn't rare for a president's own party - the Obama administration also faced a lack of support from Democrats throughout the years, the drop in Republican support truly outline the growing national discomfort regarding the investigations into Russia and the recent U.S election. Between the recent investigations into the Russian probe, and the allegations regarding the presence of recorded tapes between Trump and Comey, many Americans have found themselves more and more critical of Trump's approaches to the investigations. Although Trump's approval ratings declined, Trump's response to the death of the American college student Otto Warmbier resulted in calling the North Korean government a "brutal regime." In doing so, many Americans shared the fury against North Korea, with even the Democratic senator Adam Schiff asserting in a Twitter statement that he was "appalled at North Korea's mistreatment of this young student. A barbarous regime." 

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Nevertheless, Trump's handling of the Russia investigation became slightly more troubling, sending America into deep speculation concerning his involvement with Comey. In May, Trump previously hinted at the presence of tapes, initially stating that the former FBI Director had "better hope that there are no 'tapes'". Last week however, saw Trump suddenly putting a stop to the doubts regarding tapes, stating on Twitter he has "no idea whether there are 'tapes' or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings." In less than 140 characters, Trump appears to have completely overturned his former suggestions regarding the tapes in question, sending all Americans regardless of party affiliation, into acute guesswork on what is true and what is false. 

While the president's approval rating remains at lower levels with all Americans, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to Trump, has ensured that the White House will remain focused on important matters. "As his detractors suffer from this never ending 'Russian concussion', the president has been tending to business as usual," she continued, stating that Trump has had "bilateral meetings, progress on health care, tax and infrastructure reform and job creation." Indeed, the Trump administration has recently seen changes to regulation, some of which includes the elimination of the rulings made by the former Obama administration. 

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In the same week, the Trump administration has seen two drafts of the new healthcare bill by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. While the President has not directly commented on the draft submitted by the House of Representatives, he has stated that the former draft was too "mean", and called for the Senate to "add more money" to their draft of the new healthcare bill. While Congress appears to be making strides, it has been noted that the newer draft of the healthcare bill features billions of dollars taken from Medicaid, a health care program aimed at lower-income Americans. Given the recent developments regarding the tapes, an intensified focus against North Korea and the introduction of a new healthcare bill that may be a disadvantage to his own voters, only time will tell whether Trump's approval ratings will ever fully recover among his own party.