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Two national polls: Obamacare now more popular than Trump

The more Republicans prepare to kill the Affordable Care Act, the more Americans like the law.
A man holds a sign directing people to an insurance company where they can sign up for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare in Miami, Fla in 2015. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty)
A man holds a sign directing people to an insurance company where they can sign up for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare in Miami, Fla in 2015.
The day before Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, Fox News released the results of a new national poll that showed the Republican with a 42% favorability rating. The same poll found "Obamacare" with a 50% favorability rating.It created an awkward political dynamic: the new president is now less popular than the health care law he's eager to destroy.Yesterday, Public Policy Polling released the results of a new national survey -- the results of which were shared exclusively with The Rachel Maddow Show last night -- that pointed in a similar direction. Support for the Affordable Care Act, in this poll, stood at 45%, while Trump's support was 44%.That's obviously a pretty modest difference, but the broader point remains the same: Trump is working from the assumption that the ACA is a disaster the public is eager to get rid of, but when pollsters actually gauge Americans' attitudes, the reform law is more popular than the president bashing it.All of this comes the week after the release of an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that found the Affordable Care Act "has never been more popular" than it is right now. A Washington Post report added:

We are closer than we have ever been to the repeal of Obamacare. And a funny thing happened along the way: Americans have suddenly decided that they're pretty cool with the government being involved in their health care, after all.In fact, even many Republicans now say this.

Public attitudes are shaped by a variety of factors, but don't discount the possibility that Americans started appreciating the ACA quite a bit more when they realized Republicans might take it -- and its many benefits -- away from them.