Donald Trump’s First Quarter Gallup Poll Numbers Lowest In History
A new Gallup poll has found that President Donald Trump’s first quarter average approval rating stands at just 41 percent, 20 points lower than the historical average for all presidents.
Trump’s paltry average rating is also the lowest of any president since Gallup began conducting the survey 74 years ago. His average rating is also 14 points lower than Bill Clinton, the previous president to hold the lowest rating at 55 percent.
Pollsters noted Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama held a 63 percent average approval rating during his first three months in office, while George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan had an average rating of 60 percent.
Historically, John F. Kennedy holds the highest approval rating of all presidents at 74 percent, 33 points higher than the mark now registered by Trump.
The numbers are the results of daily tracking polls conducted by Gallup over the last three months, beginning on Jan. 20.
Over that time, Trump’s rating has dipped as low as 35 percent, that coming around the time he and the Republican led Congress unsuccessfully attempted to repeal Obamacare, one of his signature campaign vows.
Trump’s ratings have climbed as high as 46 percent and in the days leading up to the poll (April 17-19) stood at 43 percent.
As early as before the end of his first 30 days in the Oval Office, Trump’s approval rating fell under 40 percent, a dubious distinction not known by any of his predecessors. His consistent sub-40 percent ratings by the end of March put him in the company of only Clinton for such low marks so early in an administration.
Three months into his presidency, Trump has still yet to record ratings eclipsing 50 percent. By comparison, most presidents remain above that threshold for at least the first year of their tenure.
Despite his overall standing, pollsters found Trump still remains as popular as ever among his GOP base, with 87 percent of republicans approving of his first-quarter showing. Among those who identify with the party of the sitting president, the average first quarter approval rating before Trump took office had been at 83 percent.
By contrast, Trump’s first-quarter approval rating among those who describe themselves as democrats stood at just nine percent, nearly 20 points lower than the level of support any other president has received from the party opposite their own at this point in their administration.
Among independents, Trump’s level of support also stands at historical lows. Currently, just 37 percent of independent voters approve of the president’s actions, compared to the 51 percent or higher mark enjoyed by all of his predecessors at this point in their presidency. Before Trump, the historical average stood at 61 percent.
As he draws closer to the 100-day mark of his tenure, Trump continues to be dogged by his inability to make good on such campaign vows as repealing Obamacare and imposing a travel ban from mostly Muslim countries in the U.S.
Even his success in getting conservative judge Neil Gorsuch appointed to the Supreme Court came after bitter wrangling and with Republicans having to turn to the never used before “nuclear option.”
Historically, Harry Truman owns the lowest average approval rating for an entire presidency at just above 45.4 percent, numbers Trump is well below at this early point in his presidency.
Pollsters noted the only way up seems for Trump to improve his rating among both democrats and independents, a task far easier said than done given the widely partisan nature that has all but swallowed up any form of bipartisanship.
Tangible examples of that lie with Obama, who after his first year in office never saw his approval ratings among republicans move beyond round 10 percent.
The latest poll data was gathered from Jan. 20 to April 19 from a random sample of among 45,111 adults.
[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
