Even I was surprised when miserable failure George W. Bush's polls dropped down to the magic 27% level. Absent economic catastrophe, I don't really expect any president's approval numbers to fall below 35% ever again. Similarly, absent some rally around the flag event, I don't expect them to go above 55%. Republicans are going to like Republicans and Democrats are going to like Democrats, and while there's a bit of wiggle room, we're basically not going to get a super popular or super unpopular president.
I have no idea precisely why the press does all the tautological "people who like Trump like Trump" stories, but it isn't surprising that his approval numbers are around 40%. My point is in this era basically any president can have approval numbers around 40%. It didn't make Obama particularly unpopular (as he was portrayed) and it certainly doesn't make Trump particularly popular (as the focus on his fans portrays him).
That Trump is inspiring the worst people to be emboldened, and that the mainstream press helps to embolden them, is what's scary. Not that 40% approve.
