There are thunderstorms forecast for the weekend, and protesters planning to rain on his military parade, but there’s one piece of good news for Donald Trump on his 79th birthday.

Polling shared with The Telegraph shows significant support for the president’s deployment of troops to clamp down on riots in Los Angeles, with the public backing his move by a margin of 14 per cent.

Initially, Mr Trump’s decision to send the National Guard and US Marines to the city of angels had threatened to cast a cloud over his parade on Saturday, with soldiers detaining US citizens during what was meant to be a shared celebration of the country’s military history.

James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the polling, said it showed the president was “very much winning the battle of public opinion when it comes to the protests”.

He told The Telegraph: “People are instinctively on the side of order and the police over what they see as concerning levels of unrest… Right now, the message is well-calibrated and his approach is garnering support.”