US President Donald Trump losing ground in the polls

US President Donald Trump arrives to pose for a group photo with participants of the G7 summit on May 27, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily. (AFP photo)

Prospects are fading for US President Donald Trump to get a big boost at home from his first foreign trip as two new polls show his approval rating stagnating or declining and doubts rising about his credibility.

Fifty-four percent of voters say Trump is abusing the powers of his office, according to the latest survey by Quinnipiac. Only 37 percent approve of his job performance, about the same as the 36 percent who approved two weeks ago. Fifty-nine percent say Trump is dishonest.

Sixty-six percent support the appointment of a special counsel to investigate possible improper links between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Trump opposed that investigation, but the Justice Department named former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel anyway.

"President Donald Trump remains mired in dreadful mid-30s approval numbers and the red flags that are popping up tell an even darker story," Tim Malloy, the poll's assistant director, told reporters. "But by far the most alarming determination is that President Trump is abusing his office."

The latest Fox News poll finds that only 34 percent of registered voters say Trump was correct in firing FBI Director James Comey, who had been in charge of the agency's investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Sixty-eight percent approve of the Justice Department's appointment of the special counsel to investigate the Russian meddling, including 46 percent of Republicans.

The Fox survey also finds that only 40 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, down from 45 percent last month. Fifty-three percent disapprove of his job performance, up by five points from 48 percent.

Eighty-one percent of Republicans approve of the president's job performance, down from 87 percent when he took over in January. This is a troubling sign for Trump because if his base continues to erode he will probably lose influence among majority Republicans in Congress, damaging his agenda.