President Donald Trump acknowledged that his approval ratings had declined during a speech at the US-Saudi Investment Forum on November 19th.
“I always get a little bit of heat from my people, the people who love me, the people I love,” Trump said, appearing to defend allowing highly skilled workers from other countries to work in new U.S. manufacturing plants. “So my poll numbers just went down, but for smart people they went up a lot.”
This was a sharp departure from some of his previous comments, who argued that his poll numbers were great because he was toying with a third term. (The U.S. Constitution limits his term to two terms.)
So, what is President Trump’s approval rating? Here’s what we know:
What is President Trump’s approval rating?
President Trump’s approval rating is a net negative, according to an average based on RealClearPolitics and the New York Times aggregator, and after being relatively stable for months, it has fallen sharply in recent weeks.
According to graphics from RealClearPolitics, President Trump’s approval rating was 50.5% as of January 27th, making him net positive, but by March 13th, his approval rating was 47.8%, and his disapproval rating was 48.5%, making him net negative. The approval rating hit its lowest of 45.1% on April 29, but it declined near the 100th day of the Trump administration. It hit a new low of 42.3% on Nov. 14 as the controversy over Jeffrey Epstein’s emails intensifies following the end of the government shutdown. Although it recovered slightly after that, the disapproval rate hit a new record high of 55.4% on November 20th.
President Trump’s approval rating fell from 52% in January to 44% in April, then remained roughly flat for several months, according to a New York Times tally. Trump’s lowest approval rating of his term is 41%, which he first reached on November 12, according to the Times. The disapproval rating also rose further this week, reaching 56% on November 19, the highest this term, according to the aggregator.
How does President Donald Trump’s approval rating compare to previous presidents?
A Gallup poll conducted from October 1 to 16 found that 41% of people approve of President Trump’s job performance, a slight increase from the previous month.
Trump’s approval ratings in his first October as the 45th and 47th president of the United States were lower than any other modern president during the same period, according to a historical analysis by Gallup. According to Gallup, his October confirmation compares to other presidents’ first year in office.
- Joe Biden (October 2021) – 42% support
- President Trump (October 2017) – 37% approve
- Barack Obama (October 2009) – 53% approve
- George W. Bush (October 2001) – 88% approved
- Bill Clinton (October 1993) – 48% support
- George H.W. Bush (October 1989) – 68% approve
- Ronald Reagan (October 1981) – 55% approved
Fox News: Promoting economic disapproval
A national poll by Fox News found that 41% of voters approve of the job President Trump is doing, while 58% disapprove. The poll, conducted Nov. 14-17 by Beacon Research (Democratic) and Shaw & Company Research (Republican), surveyed 1,005 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
76% of respondents view the economy negatively, which is worse than the 67% who felt this way in July and the 70% who felt this way at the end of Biden’s term.
When asked what kind of impact President Trump’s economic policies have had, voters were most likely to say they were “negatively affected,” at 46%, followed by 15% who said they “helped,” and 39% who said they had “no impact.”
Reuters: Polling agency releases lowest rating for second term
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Nov. 14-17 found that 38% of Americans support President Trump’s efforts. Although it was the lowest according to pollsters during the Trump administration’s second term, the decline since early November is within the margin of error. The poll surveyed 1,017 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.
Notably, the poll came after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill forcing the release of the Epstein files, something Trump opposed for months before changing his tune. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found his approval rating among Republicans at 82%, down from 87% earlier this month.
Contributor: Natalie Neysa Alund, 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.
