One year after returning to the White House, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are near the lowest of his term.
As his inauguration day approaches, President Trump is pushing ahead with an unpopular idea to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark. Several polls conducted over multiple weeks at the time showed that many voters wanted President Trump to focus on affordability. President Trump ultimately backed away from his threat to annex Greenland.
However, voters who were asked by pollsters to reflect on the first year of Trump’s second term gave him a low rating. In a CNN poll conducted by SSRS and released on January 16, 58% of Americans say President Trump’s first year in office has been a failure. A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted on January 22 found that only 32% of voters believe the country is better off than it was when President Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
President Trump’s average approval rating, calculated by aggregators, shows a long history of decline, but last week hit the lowest level previously reached at the end of the government shutdown as the controversy over sex offender Jeffrey Epstein escalated.
What is his approval rating? See the latest information:
What is Donald Trump’s approval rating?
According to an average calculated by the New York Times and RealClearPolitics aggregators, President Trump’s approval rating has been in net negative territory since the spring. It was relatively stable from April to November, then fell sharply, rebounded slightly in December, and fell again.
According to a graph from RealClearPolitics, as of January 23, 42.6% approve of President Trump’s performance, while 54.7% disapprove. The lowest approval rating for the term was 42.2% on January 16th. The net approval rating, which is the difference between supporters and non-supporters, hit its worst a few days later, on January 20th, at -13.2 points.
As of January 23, 41% of Americans approve of President Trump’s job performance, according to a New York Times tally. This is the lowest number of the period, according to the Times, but the first time he reached this level was on November 12th.
How does President Donald Trump’s approval rating compare to previous presidents?
Trump’s approval rating as the 45th and 47th president in December, his first year in office, was lower than that of any other modern president during the same period, according to a historical analysis by Gallup. According to Gallup, his December confirmation compares to that of other presidents in their first year in office.
- Trump (December 2025) – 36% support
- Joe Biden (December 2021) – 43% support
- President Trump (December 2017) – 36% approve
- Barack Obama (December 2009) – 50% approve
- George W. Bush (December 2001) – 86% approved
- Bill Clinton (December 1993) – 53% support
- George H.W. Bush (December 1989) – 71% approved
- Ronald Reagan (December 1981) – 49% support
Contributor: Katherine Palmer, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and TikTok.
