Next week will mark the 100th day in office for President Donald Trump’s second term. Gallup found that Trump had an average 45% approval rating for this first quarter, higher than his 2017 first quarter approval rating, but lower than the rest of the post-World War II elected presidents.
By The Numbers:
The overall first quarter average approval rating for all post-World War II presidents is 59%. Trump’s average approval 45%, up four points from 2017 when it was 41%.
Trump is the only president with a first quarter average approval rating in the 40s. Bill Clinton (55%), Joe Biden (56%), George H.W. Bush (57%), and First Termers George W. Bush (58%) all had approval ratings in the 50s in their first terms. Ronald Reagan (60%), Barack Obama (63%), and Jimmy Carter (69%) all had approval ratings in the 60s in theirs.
Dwight Eisenhower (71%) and John F. Kennedy (74%) had the highest first quarter average approval ratings in their first terms.
The Bottom Line: More troublesome than a lower average approval rating is the low confidence in Trump’s economic leadership–only 44%. The flip side is that Americans are not more confident in any other Republican or Democrat leader. This underscore the fact that each party’s base will continue hunkering down. However, the 15%-20% voters who didn’t like either of their choices last November will need to see confident and effective leadership, especially on the economy, sooner than later.
