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United States presidential approval rating

Historical approval ratings of the US president

In the United States, presidential job approval ratings were first conducted by George Gallup (estimated to be 1937) to gauge public support for the president of the United States during their term. An approval rating is a percentage determined by polling which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll who approve of a particular person or program. Typically, an approval rating is given to a politician based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure. A question might ask: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way that the current president is handling their job as president?"

Like most surveys that measure opinions, individual poll results may be inaccurate. Many unscientific approval rating systems exist that show inaccurate statistics. Examples that self select, such as online questions, are of this type; however, the aggregate approval rating is generally accepted by statisticians as a statistically valid indicator of the comparative changes in the popular U.S. mood regarding a president. George W. Bush registered a 90% job approval rating (the highest in Gallup's tracking) shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Harry S. Truman registered a 22% job approval rating (the lowest in Gallup's tracking) in a survey conducted February 9–14, 1952.

Historical comparison

#	President	Years in office	Approval	Disapproval	Margin	Final poll	Polls
per year	Avg	Highest	Lowest	Diff	Highest	Lowest	Highest	Lowest
title=Presidential Approval Ratings -- Donald Trump	url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx	access-date=2025-08-10	website=Gallup.com	date=January 27, 2025	language=en}}	Donald Trump	2025–		47
(2025-01-27)	36
(2025-11-28, 2025-12-15)	11	60
(2025-11-28)	48
(2025-01-27)	−1
(2025-01-27)	−24
(2025-11-28)	TBD}}
title=Presidential Approval Ratings -- Joe Biden	url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/329384/presidential-approval-ratings-joe-biden.aspx	access-date=2022-07-31	website=Gallup.com	date=February 5, 2021	language=en}}	Joe Biden	2021–2025	42	57
(2021-02-02, 2021-04-21)	36
(2024-07-21)	21	59
(2022-07-26, 2023-04-25, 2023-10-23, 2023-11-21, 2023-12-20, 2024-02-20)	37
(2021-02-02)	20
(2021-02-02)	−22
(2023-04-25, 2023-10-23, 2023-11-21, 2024-07-21)	40
(2025-01-15)	12
url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx	title=Gallup Daily: Trump Job Approval	work=Gallup	access-date=January 27, 2017}}	Donald Trump	2017–2021	41	49
(2020-01-29, 2020-02-16, 2020-03-22, 2020-04-28, 2020-05-13)	34
(2021-01-15)	15	62
(2021-01-15)	45
(2017-01-22, 2020-03-22)	4
(2020-03-22)	−28
(2021-01-15)	34
(2021-01-15)	40
44	Barack Obama	2009–2017	48	69
(2009-01-24)	38
(2014-09-05)	31	57
(2014-10-10)	12
(2009-01-23)	56
(2009-01-23, 2009-01-24)	−18
(2014-10-10)	59
(2017-01-19)	48.4
43	George W. Bush	2001–2009	49	90
(2001-09-22)	25
(2008-10-05, 2008-10-12, 2008-11-02)	65	71
(2008-10-10)	6
(2001-09-22)	84
(2001-09-22)	−46
(2008-10-12)	34
(2009-01-11)	33.7
42	Bill Clinton	1993–2001	55	73
(1998-12-20)	37
(1993-06-06)	36	54
(1994-09-07)	20
(1993-01-26)	48
(1998-12-20)	−14
(1994-09-07)	66
(2001-01-14)	28.5
41	George H. W. Bush	1989–1993	61	89
(1991-02-28)	29
(1992-08-02)	60	60
(1992-07-31)	6
(1989-01-26)	82
(1991-03-03)	−30
(1992-08-02, 1992-10-13)	56
(1993-01-11)	39.5
40	Ronald Reagan	1981–1989	53	68
(1986-05-19)	35
(1983-01-31)	33	56
(1983-01-31)	13
(1981-02-02)	49
(1981-04-06)	−21
(1983-01-31)	63
(1988-12-29)	37.0
39	Jimmy Carter	1977–1981	46	75
(1977-03-21)	28
(1979-07-02)	47	59
(1979-07-02)	8
(1977-02-07, 1977-03-02)	66
(1977-03-15)	−31
(1979-07-02)	34
(1980-12-08)	22.7
38	Gerald Ford	1974–1977	47	71
(1974-08-19)	37
(1975-03-31)	34	48
(1975-03-31)	3
(1974-08-19)	67
(1974-08-13)	−11
(1975-03-31)	53
(1976-12-13)	14.7
37	Richard Nixon	1969–1974	49	67
(1969-11-17, 1973-01-29)	24
(1974-07-15, 1974-07-26, 1974-08-05)	43	66
(1974-08-05)	5
(1969-01-28)	57
(1969-03-17)	−42
(1974-08-05)	24
(1974-08-05)	17.7
36	Lyndon B. Johnson	1963–1969	55	79
(1964-03-05)	35
(1968-08-12)	44	53
(1968-08-12)	2
(1963-12-10)	75
(1963-12-10)	−18
(1968-08-12)	49
(1969-01-06)	15.3
35	John F. Kennedy	1961–1963	70	82
(1961-05-03, 1961-06-06)	56
(1963-09-17)	26	30
(1963-11-13)	5
(1961-04-11)	77
(1961-05-03)	27
(1963-09-17)	58
(1963-11-13)	13.7
34	Dwight D. Eisenhower	1953–1961	65	79
(1956-12-19)	48
(1958-04-01)	31	36
(1958-04-01)	7
(1953-02-05)	66
(1953-04-02, 1956-12-19)	12
(1958-04-01)	59
(1960-12-13)	14.4
33	Harry Truman	1945–1953	45	87
(1945-06-05)	22
(1951-11-16, 1952-02-14)	65	67
(1952-01-06)	3
(1945-06-05)	85
(1945-08-22)	−43
(1952-01-04)	32
(1952-12-16)	8.4
32	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1933–1945	63	83
(1942-01-23)	48
(1939-08-18)	35	46
(1938-05-22, 1938-05-29, 1938-11-07)		73
(1942-01-23)		65
(1943-12-15)	8

Approval at the beginning of the presidency

Presidency	President	Initial approval	Initial disapproval
47	Trump	47 (2025-01-29)	48 (2025-01-29)
46	Biden	57 (2021-02-02)	37 (2021-02-02)
45	Trump	45 (2017-01-22)	45 (2017-01-22)
44	Obama	68 (2009-01-23)	12 (2009-01-23)
43	G. W. Bush	57 (2001-02-05)	25 (2001-02-05)
42	Clinton	58 (1993-01-24)	20 (1993-01-24)
41	G. H. W. Bush	51 (1989-01-26)	6 (1989-01-26)
40	Reagan	51 (1981-02-02)	13 (1981-02-02)
39	Carter	66 (1977-01-07)	8 (1977-01-07)
38	Ford	71 (1974-08-19)	3 (1974-08-19)
37	Nixon	59 (1969-01-28)	5 (1969-01-28)
36	Johnson	78 (1963-12-10)	2 (1963-12-10)
35	Kennedy	72 (1961-02-15)	6 (1961-02-15)
34	Eisenhower	68 (1953-02-05)	7 (1953-02-05)
33	Truman	87 (1945-06-05)	3 (1945-06-05)

Historical net approval of each presidency

Presidency	President	Average initial approval	Average initial disapproval	Net initial approval	Average final approval	Average final disapproval	Net final approval	Initial to final change
47	Trump	47	41	+6	—	—	—	—
46	Biden	57.5	37.5	+20	37.9	56.9	-19	-39
45	Trump	45	45	0	41.1	56.1	-15	-15
44	Obama	68.5	12.5	+56	59	37	+22	-34
43	G. W. Bush	57	25	+32	34	61	-27	-59
42	Clinton	58	20	+38	66	29	+37	-1
41	G. H. W. Bush	51	6	+45	56	37	+19	-26
40	Reagan	51	13	+38	63	29	+34	-4
39	Carter	66	8	+58	34	55	-21	-79
38	Ford	71	3	+68	53	32	+21	-47
37	Nixon	59	5	+54	24	66	-42	-96
36	Johnson	78	2	+76	49	33	+16	-60
35	Kennedy	72	6	+66	58	28	+30	-36
34	Eisenhower	68	7	+61	59	28	+31	-30
33	Truman	87	3	+84	32	56	-24	-108

Graphs

References

(November 16, 2016). "Presidential Approval Ratings: Donald Trump". [[Gallup, Inc.]].
Jones, J. (2022). Who had the highest Gallup presidential job approval rating? Gallup. Retrieved from [https://news.gallup.com/poll/271628/highest-gallup-presidential-job-approval-rating.aspx Who Had the Highest Gallup Presidential Job Approval Rating?]
Jones, J. (2022). Who had the lowest Gallup presidential job approval rating? Gallup. Retrieved from [https://news.gallup.com/poll/272765/lowest-gallup-presidential-job-approval-rating.aspx Who Had the Lowest Gallup Presidential Job Approval Rating?]
(March 12, 2008). "Presidential Approval Ratings – Gallup Historical Statistics and Trends". Gallup.
Lydia Saad. (March 29, 2017). "Trump's Approval Rating Unusually Low, Unusually Early". Gallup.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=45&sort=time&direct=ASC&Submit=DISPLAY The American Presidency Project] at UC Santa Barbara.
(January 27, 2025). "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Donald Trump".
(February 5, 2021). "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Joe Biden".
(2021-04-23). "Biden Job Approval a Respectable 57% at 100 Days".
"Gallup Daily: Trump Job Approval". Gallup.
Saad, Lydia (January 23, 2017). [https://news.gallup.com/poll/202811/trump-sets-new-low-point-inaugural-approval-rating.aspx Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating]. ''[[Gallup Inc.]]''.
(January 12, 2017). "Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval".
(January 20, 2008). "Presidential Approval Ratings -- George Bush". Gallup.
(March 11, 2008). "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Bill Clinton". Gallup.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=41 "Presidential Job Approval for George H. W. Bush"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=40 "Presidential Job Approval for Ronald Reagan"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=39 "Presidential Job Approval for Jimmy Carter"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=38 "Presidential Job Approval for Gerald Ford"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=37 "Presidential Job Approval for Richard Nixon"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=36 "Presidential Job Approval for Lyndon B. Johnson"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=35 "Presidential Job Approval for John F. Kennedy"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=34 Presidential Job Approval for "Dwight D. Eisenhower"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=33 "Presidential Job Approval for Harry S. Truman"]. American Presidency Project.
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=32 "Presidential Job Approval for Franklin D. Roosevelt"]. American Presidency Project.
Gerhard, Peters. (February 4, 2021). "Initial Presidential Job Approval Ratings.".
"President Biden Job Approval Ratings and Polls {{!}} RealClearPolling".
Wiederkehr, Ryan Best, Aaron Bycoffe, Ritchie King, Dhrumil Mehta and Anna. (2018-06-28). "Latest Polls".
"data/polls/old_model at master · fivethirtyeight/data".
Dunbar, Marina. (2025-03-05). "Political poll news site 538 to close amid larger shuttering across ABC and Disney". The Guardian.

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