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Fifty percent! That's not bad! Particularly given how much negative press Trump gets, according to Trump.

I was intrigued about the Rasmussen result, so I did a bit of digging and also reached out to CNN polling czar Jennifer Agiesta for her take.

There are a few reasons to be skeptical about the Rasmussen result.

* Rasmussen used an automated voice (as opposed to a real, live person) to conduct their polls. They are, therefore, barred by law from contacting people on cell phones. People who only use cell phones tend to be younger and more diverse than those who have landlines. And younger, more diverse voters have heavily favored Democrats in recent elections.

There are other, even more technical and nerdy reasons why you should be somewhat skeptical of Rasmussen, but you get the idea. In an industry in which transparency is the name of the game, Rasmussen just doesn't show very much of how they do what they do. That's not to say what they do is wrong; it's only to say we have no way of knowing how closely they adhere to accepted polling standards.

What Rasmussen may be picking up -- and this tracks with Gallup's findings as well -- is that after hitting a low point in his job approval at the start of this month, Trump has been tracking upward. Rasmussen measured him at 42% approval on April 3 while Gallup had Trump's weekly average at 38% as of April 2. Both polls suggest gains for Trump since then; the difference is that Trump started off higher in Rasmussen than in Gallup.

The rise in Trump's approval numbers tracks closely with his decision to strike a Syrian air base that US officials say was the staging ground for a chemical attack by that country's government on its own people. That strike took place Thursday, April 6.

The larger point here: No one poll should be taken as the "truth" about where Trump -- or any other politician -- stands. Polls are, by their nature, snapshots in time. That's how we all -- and, yes, this means you, President Trump -- should be treating them.

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Is Donald Trump's approval rating really 50 percent? - CNN