United States presidential approval rating


In the United States, presidential job approval ratings were introduced by George Gallup in the late 1930s to gauge public support for the president of the United States during their term. An approval rating is a percentage determined by a 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:


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 United States mood regarding a president.
President Donald Trump in 2018 had a job approval of approximately 81–91% with Republicans, 30–42% with Independents, and 5–13% with Democrats. Gallup polling has found that, as of 2019, 47% of Americans are either "Democrats or Democratic leaners" while 42% are either "Republicans or Republican leaners".

President Donald Trump

Most recent polls for President Donald Trump
Polling groupDateApprovalDisapprovalUnsureNet +/−Sample sizePopulation
YouGovJuly 22–24, 202042%52%6%–10%1,000All adults
Rasmussen Reports July 21–23, 202049%49%2%±0%1,500Likely voters
Echelon InsightsJuly 17–22, 202037%60%3%–23%1,000Likely voters
Reuters/IpsosJuly 15–21, 202038%57%5%–19%4,430All adults
American Research GroupJuly 17–20, 202036%60%4%–24%1,100All adults
Associated Press/NORCJuly 16–20, 202038%61%1%–23%1,057All adults
Global Strategy Group/GBAO July 16–20, 202038%61%1%–23%1,015Registered voters
Morning ConsultJuly 17–19, 202039%57%4%–18%2,200All adults
Fox NewsJuly 12–15, 202045%54%1%–9%1,104Registered voters
ABC News/The Washington PostJuly 12–15, 202039%57%4%–18%1,006All adults
QuinnipiacJuly 9–13, 202036%60%4%–24%1,273Registered voters
Change Research/CNBCJuly 10–12, 202043%57%0%–14%1,258Likely voters
HarrisJuly 10–12, 202042%52%6%–10%1,974All adults
NBC News/The Wall Street JournalJuly 9–12, 202042%56%2%–14%900Registered voters
RMG ResearchJuly 9–11, 202044%53%3%–9%1,200Registered voters
Research Co.July 1–2, 202040%56%4%–16%1,200All adults
IBD/TIPPJune 27–30, 202039%56%5%–17%1,213All adults
MonmouthJune 26–30, 202041%53%6%–12%867All adults
Gallup PollJune 8–30, 202038%57%5%–19%1,016All adults
Suffolk/USA TodayJune 25–29, 202040%58%2%–18%1,000Registered voters
Hart Research AssociatesJune 22–28, 202041%59%0%–18%1,000Registered voters

Historical comparison

Historical Gallup Poll approval highs and lows for each president since 1937
OrderPresidentHighest approvalLowest approvalHigh –
Low		Highest disapprovalHighest marginLowest marginFinal pollApproval
average		Polls
per year
45Trump49 35 1460 4 −25 38 4040
44Obama67 40 2755 56 −18 59 47.948.4
43G. W. Bush90 25 6571 83 −46 34 49.433.7
42Clinton73 37 3654 45 −14 66 55.128.5
41G. H. W. Bush89 29 6060 82 −30 56 60.939.5
40Reagan71 35 3656 52 −2163 52.837.0
39Carter74 28 4659 66 −31 34 45.522.7
38Ford70 36 3446 67 −7 53 47.214.7
37Nixon66 24 4266 57 −42 24 49.117.7
36Johnson79 34 4552 75 −18 49 55.115.3
35Kennedy83 56 2730 78 27 58 70.113.7
34Eisenhower77 47 3036 66 12 59 65.014.4
33Truman91 22 6967 85 −43 32 45.48.4
32F. D. Roosevelt83 48 3546 73 65 638

Graphs