Keep the baby happy

[Trump] crowed on Twitter hours after landing back in Washington from his 12-day Asia tour about his Rasmussen number—46 percent—noting it was “one of the most accurate” in 2016, and decried “fake news” polls showing his approval in the 30s while also suggesting, with no evidence, that “some people” think his numbers could be in the 50s. (The Rasmussen poll sank to 42 percent on Friday.)

Aides in the White House often show Trump polls designed to make him feel good, according to aides and advisers. Usually they’re the ones that focus just on voters who cast ballots for him in 2016 or are potential Trump supporters —Trump’s base—but occasionally include public polls like Rasmussen, depending on what the numbers say.

  Politico

That would be sad if polls of only his base don't make it to 50%.  What will staff do to keep him mollified if that happens?  Probably nothing to worry about.

When the White House sent internal poll numbers to about 15 legislators last month in hopes of pressuring them to support tax reform, it wasn’t the usual approve-disapprove.

Instead, the polls delineated by the president’s base, steady Trump voters, soft Trump voters, lean Dem independent voters, white working class men, suburban women.

[...]

Aides in Trump’s political affairs shop shrug off public polls that survey the general public. Most of the public pollsters are seen as “not understanding him,” one senior White House official said

[...]

Adviser Jared Kushner often tells Trump not to trust traditional data, while former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon used to tell Trump to focus only on the 40 percent or so of Americans who make up his base.

[...]

Neil Newhouse, the lead pollster on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, said the White House’s polling presentation focused on selling an overhaul of the tax system to the president’s electoral base was a smart use of survey data.

“I would call this strategic polling where — this is going to sound maybe a little crass — they don’t really care where all Americans stand on the issue of tax reform. Because 35 to 40 percent of Americans are never going to support anything he does,” said Newhouse. “Why should I spend my money trying to find out what they think?”

Because they're Americans, too?

Yet several senior officials said they don’t trust the internal polls because they are “delusional” or “just not accurate,” in the words of two officials.

Life in Trumpland must be difficult for them.

But while Trump’s aides sometimes go out of their way to give him the rosiest view, Trump himself tracks the Gallup data almost every day, two advisers say, and always knows what the numbers say.

It means Trump often has a complicated routine of keeping up with polls—which paint a dismal picture, giving him an average approval rating of 38 percent, according to RealClearPolitics—and getting upset privately, while blustering and calling them “fake” in public.

Bluster is his middle name.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.