Days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump has set record for receiving the lowest initial job approval rating and the highest disapproval rating.
Trump is the first elected U.S. President to start out with a job approval rating below 50% in the history of Gallup surveys, which date back to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. Just 45% of respondents said they approve of the job Trump is doing, while 45% disapprove, according to a Gallup poll.
By comparison, former President Barack Obama began his term with a 68% approval rating, according to Gallup polling. George W. Bush began with a 57% approval rating. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan had 51% approval ratings at the start of their terms, but they had much lower disapproval ratings—just 6% and 13%, respectively.
An overwhelming majority of Republicans (90%) approved of Trump, while a large majority of Democrats (81%) disapproved. More women (48%) disapproved of Trump than men (41%). And majorities of nonwhites and young adults disapproved of Trump’s performance, while majorities of whites and people over 65 approved.
The survey of 1,525 adults, conducted Jan. 20-22, has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
