A new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that concerns about urban crime have become a relative strength for President Donald Trump. Eighty-one percent of respondents call crime a “major problem” in large cities, and 53% approve of the president’s handling of the issue—his best rating on any policy area measured. Trump’s overall job approval has risen five points since July to 45%, the highest level the AP-NORC series has recorded in either of his terms. The nationwide poll, conducted Aug. 21–25 among 1,182 adults, carries a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. While 55% of those surveyed say it is acceptable for the military or National Guard to assist local police in large cities, only about one-third support a full federal takeover of big-city police departments. Support for Trump’s crime policies is sharply divided along political and demographic lines. Roughly nine in ten Republicans approve of his approach, compared with about half of independents and just 16% of Democrats. Approval also varies by race: about half of White and Hispanic respondents back the president’s strategy, versus 27% of Black respondents. The findings come two weeks after Trump placed Washington, D.C.’s police department under effective federal control and deployed National Guard troops to the capital, moves he has threatened to replicate in other cities. The poll suggests that, for now, the crackdown is bolstering his standing, even as a majority of Americans remain uneasy about ceding local policing powers to the federal government.