Trump touts his base as 'getting stronger,' though polls show a weakening

— -- A new poll suggests that President Donald Trump's support among Republicans is shrinking, in spite of his recent claims that his base is growing.

The poll, released by CNN Monday night, reports that "strong approval" of the president by Republicans has dropped to 59 percent from 73 percent in February, and the same level of support among white voters without college degrees dropped by 12 points to 35 percent.

Hours before that poll was released, Trump published a series of tweets apparently countering an earlier poll that showed a drop in his approval rating among his core supporters.

"The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at rallies in Penn, Iowa, Ohio, and West Virginia. The fact is the Fake News Russian collusion story, record Stock Market, border security, military strength, jobs, Supreme Court pick, economic enthusiasm, deregulation & so much more have driven the Trump base even closer together. Will never change!" he wrote in three tweets posted Monday morning.

"Hard to believe that with 24/7 #Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTIMES & WAPO, the Trump base is getting stronger!" he wrote in another.

The president did not directly mention the latest polling in his Monday morning tweets.

Quinnipiac University released a poll on Aug. 2 that showed Trump reaching a new low point in his approval numbers, with 61 percent of Americans disapproving of the job he is doing compared to 33 percent approving. That is down from Quinnipiac's June 29 survey, which showed the president with 55 percent disapproval and 40 percent approval.

The organization said that the latest numbers marked Trump's "lowest approval and highest disapproval number since he was inaugurated."

The poll also showed a drop in the approval rating among groups that form the president's base -- Republicans and whites who are not college graduates.

Republicans' approval of Trump is still high at 76 percent in the latest numbers but that is down from 81 percent in January. Similarly, among non-college whites, the president's approval rating fell from 52 percent in January to 43 percent this month.

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, acknowledged the dip during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday.

"I would note, too, in some of the polling, which of course I scour daily on behalf of the president, his approval rating among Republicans and conservatives and Trump voters is down slightly. It needs to go up," Conway said. "They are telling him, 'just enact your program. Don't worry about a Congress that isn't supporting legislation to get big ticket items done. And don't worry about all the distractions and diversions and discouragement that others, who are trying to throw logs in your path, are throwing your way.'"