Lohud – The Journal News
How is Donald Trump doing? See recent polls
Victoria E. Freile, Kinsey Crowley and Samantha Neely, New York Connect Team – March 3, 2025
Polls are coming in just over a month after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, providing insight into Americans’ opinions on his administration so far. These presidential approval rating polls come as his administration launches a series of executive actions, faces court challenges, and issues DOGE directives. Thousands of federal employees have been laid off as the administration works to reshape federal agencies and cut government spending.
Have these actions affected his ratings? Here’s what to know about President Trump’s approval rating and how they are calculated.
What is Donald Trump’s approval rating? What recent polls say
Washington Post/Ipsos:
- More respondents disapproved of Trump’s job performance by 8 percentage points. (Poll conducted Feb. 13-18; 2,601 adults; margin of error ±2.1 percentage points)
- A majority (57%) believe Trump has exceeded his authority since taking office, according to the Post.
YouGov/The Economist:
- More respondents approved of Trump’s job than disapproved by 3 percentage points. (Poll conducted Feb. 16-18; 1,451 registered voters; margin of error ±3.2 percentage points)
- Roughly half of Americans (51%) believe the U.S. is facing a constitutional crisis.
Morning Consult:
- More respondents approved of Trump’s work by 3 percentage points. (Poll conducted Feb. 14-16; 2,217 registered voters; margin of error ±2 percentage points)
- After three weeks of declines, these ratings stabilized and are similar to numbers from the same point in his first term, according to Morning Consult.
Gallup:
- More respondents disapproved of Trump’s job performance by a 6-point margin. (Poll conducted Feb. 3-16; 1,004 adult respondents; margin of error ±4 percentage points)
- His support remains highly partisan, with an 89-point gap between Democrats and Republicans—the largest Gallup has recorded for any president.
Echelon Insights:
- More Americans approved of Trump’s job performance, 52% to 46%. (Poll conducted Feb. 10-13; 1,010 likely voters; margin of error ±3.6 percentage points)
- The survey also found that voters disapproved of Elon Musk’s federal government role by an 11-point margin.
What goes into a president’s approval rating?
A president’s approval rating reflects the percentage of Americans who approve of their job performance. Factors influencing approval include legislation, executive actions, and elections. According to ABC News, approval ratings not only gauge public sentiment but can also impact election outcomes and a president’s ability to push policies through Congress.
Are presidential approval ratings accurate?
While approval ratings are easy to understand, some analysts believe they are less useful due to extreme partisanship and a highly polarized political climate.
“Presidential approval ratings have always been partisan, with members of the president’s party offering more positive assessments than those in the opposing party,” according to the Pew Research Center. “But the differences between Republicans and Democrats on views of the president have grown substantially in recent decades.”
How does Trump’s second-term approval compare to his first?
Trump ended his first term in 2021 with a final approval rating of 34%, the same as former Presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. His first-term average approval rating was 41%, according to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.
Despite Trump serving two non-consecutive terms, Costas Panagopoulos, head of political science at Northeastern University, told USA TODAY that comparisons between his early second-term approval and past newly inaugurated presidents remain valid.
“It seems like Americans are giving Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt as he starts his second term,” Panagopoulos said, noting that many don’t expect significant changes within his first month back in office.
What were the final approval ratings of the last 10 U.S. presidents?
- Joe Biden – 40%
- Donald Trump (first term) – 34%
- Barack Obama – 59%
- George W. Bush – 34%
- Bill Clinton – 66%
- George H.W. Bush – 56%
- Ronald Reagan – 63%
- Jimmy Carter – 34%
- Gerald Ford – 53%
- Richard Nixon – 24%