United States presidential approval rating
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In the United States, presidential job approval ratings were 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?"[1]
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 Joe Biden's approval ratings
FiveThirtyEight[2] | All polls | 49.9% | 43.9% |
RealClearPolitics[3] | All polls | 49.9% | 46.1% |
majority approve plurality approve plurality disapprove majority disapprove
Polling group | Date | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Approval | Disapproval | Unsure/no opinion | Net |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Zogby Strategies/EMI Research Solutions[4] | August 16, 2021 | 956 (A) | ±3.2% | 52% | 42% | 6% | +10 |
Rasmussen Reports/Pulse Opinion Research (R)[5] | August 12–16, 2021 | 1,500 (LV) | [b] | 45% | 54% | 1% | −9 |
Léger[6] | August 13–15, 2021 | 1,005 (A) | ±3.09% | 51% | 47% | 2% | +4 |
Ipsos/Reuters[7] | August 11–12, 2021 | 1,002 (A) | ±3.5% | 51% | 43% | 6% | +8 |
Trafalgar Group (R)[8] | August 8–11, 2021 | 1,073 (LV) | ±2.99% | 46.5% | 47.5% | 6% | −1 |
YouGov (for The Economist)[9] | August 7–10, 2021 | 1,485 (A) | ±2.8% | 49% | 45% | 6% | +4 |
Fox News[10] | August 7–10, 2021 | 1,002 (RV) | ±3.0% | 53% | 46% | 2% | +7 |
Morning Consult[11] | August 4–10, 2021 | 2,085 (A) | ±0.5% | 51% | 41% | 8% | +10 |
Historical Gallup polling comparison
Order | President | Highest approval | Lowest approval | High – Low |
Highest disapproval | Highest margin | Lowest margin | Final poll | Approval average[12] |
Polls per year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
46 | Biden | 57 (2021-02-02, 2021-04-21) [15] | 49.3 (2021-08-19) [16] | 7 | 45 (2021-07-21) [17] | 20 (2021-02-02) | 5 (2021-07-21) | 56 | 7 [18] | |
45 | Trump | 49 (2020-05-13)[19] | 34 (2021-01-15)[19] | 15 | 62 (2021-01-15)[19] | 4 (2020-03-22)[19] | −28 (2021-01-15)[19] | 34 (2021-01-15)[19] | 41[19] | 40 |
44[23][24] | Obama | 67 (2009-01-25) | 40 (2014-09-05)[d] | 27 | 55 (2014-06-22, 2014-10-12) | 56 (2009-01-23, 2009-01-24) | −18 (2014-10-10) | 59 (2017-01-19) | 47.9 | 48.4 |
43[25] | G. W. Bush | 90 (2001-09-21) | 25 (2008-10-05, 2008-10-12, 2008-11-02) | 65 | 71 (2008-10-10) | 83 (2001-09-22) | −46 (2008-10-12) | 34 (2009-01-11) | 49.4 | 33.7 |
42[26] | Clinton | 73 (1998-12-19) | 37 (1993-06-06) | 36 | 54 (1994-09-07) | 45 (2000-12-17) | −14 (1994-09-07) | 66 (2001-01-14) | 55.1 | 28.5 |
41[27] | G. H. W. Bush | 89 (1991-02-28) | 29 (1992-08-02, 1992-10-13) | 60 | 60 (1992-07-31) | 82 (1991-03-03) | −30 (1992-08-02, 1992-10-13) | 56 (1993-01-11) | 60.9 | 39.5 |
40[28] | Reagan | 71 (1986-01-30) | 35 (1983-01-31) | 36 | 56 (1983-01-28) | 52 (1986-01-30) | −21(1983-01-31) | 63 (1988-12-29) | 52.8 | 37.0 |
39[29] | Carter | 74 (1977-03-15) | 28 (1979-06-26, 1979-10-02) | 46 | 59 (1979-06-26) | 66 (1977-03-15) | −31 (1979-06-26) | 34 (1980-12-08) | 45.5 | 22.7 |
38[30] | Ford | 70 (1974-08-13) | 36 (1975-03-25) | 34 | 46 (1975-04-15, 1975-11-18) | 67 (1974-08-13) | −7 (1975-02-25, 1975-03-25, 1975-04-15) | 53 (1976-12-13) | 47.2 | 14.7 |
37[31] | Nixon | 66 (1973-01-23) | 24 (1974-01-02) | 42 | 66 (1974-08-05) | 57 (1969-03-17) | −42 (1974-08-05) | 24 (1974-08-05) | 49.1 | 17.7 |
36[32] | Johnson | 79 (1964-03-05) | 34 (1968-08-12) | 45 | 52 (1968-08-12) | 75 (1963-12-10) | −18 (1968-08-12) | 49 (1969-01-06) | 55.1 | 15.3 |
35[33] | Kennedy | 83 (1962-03-05) | 56 (1963-09-10) | 27 | 30 (1963-09-12, 1963-11-08) | 78 (1962-03-05) | 27 (1963-09-10) | 58 (1963-11-13) | 70.1 | 13.7 |
34[34] | Eisenhower | 77 (1955-11-22, 1956-12-19) | 47 (1958-03-25) | 30 | 36 (1958-03-25) | 66 (1953-04-02, 1956-12-19) | 12 (1958-03-25) | 59 (1960-12-13) | 65.0 | 14.4 |
33[35] | Truman | 87 (1945-06-05) | 22 (1951-11-16, 1952-02-14) | 65 | 67 (1952-01-06) | 85 (1945-08-22) | −43 (1952-01-04) | 32 (1952-12-16) | 45.4 | 8.4 |
32[36] | F. D. Roosevelt | 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) | 63 | 8 |
Approval at the beginning of the presidency
Order | President | Highest approval | Lowest disapproval |
---|---|---|---|
46 | Biden | 57 (2021-02-11) | 37 (2021-02-02) |
45 | Trump | 49 (2020-05-13) | 45 (2017-01-22) |
44 | Obama | 68 (2009-01-23) | 12 (2009-01-23) |
43 | 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) | 5 (1969) |
36 | LBJ | 78 (1963) | 2 (1963) |
35 | Kennedy | 72 (1961) | 6 (1961) |
34 | Eisenhower | 68 (1953) | 7 (1953) |
33 | Truman | 87 (1945) | 3 (1945) |
Graphs
- Gallup Poll graphs of approval ratings for former presidents of the United States
See also
- Historical rankings of presidents of the United States
- Opinion polling on the Donald Trump administration
Notes
- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters - ^ None provided.
- ^ Only the results of Gallup polls are included as no other poll results exist for presidents before President Clinton.
- ^ Last of eight, sometimes overlapping, 3-day averages.
- ^ Only the results of Gallup polls are included as no other poll results exist for presidents before President Clinton.
References
- ^ "Presidential Approval Ratings – Donald Trump". Gallup. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ^ "How Popular Is Joe Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "President Biden Job Approval". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Zogby, John (August 17, 2021). "49% Approve of President's Decision to Leave Afghanistan, While 37% Oppose; Overall Biden Job Approval at 52%". John Zogby Strategies.
- ^ "Biden Approval Index History". Rasmussen Reports. August 17, 2021.
- ^ "North American Tracker" (PDF). The Canadian Press. August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Ipsos Poll Core Political Data" (PDF). Ipsos. August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Nationwide Biden Approval Survey" (PDF). Trafalgar Group. August 11, 2021.
- ^ "The Economist/YouGov Poll" (PDF). YouGov. August 7–10, 2021.
- ^ "Fox News Poll" (PDF). Fox News. August 11, 2021.
- ^ "Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker". Morning Consult. August 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Presidential Approval Ratings – Gallup Historical Statistics and Trends". Gallup. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ Lydia Saad (March 29, 2017). "Trump's Approval Rating Unusually Low, Unusually Early". Gallup. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ The American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara.
- ^ "Biden Job Approval a Respectable 57% at 100 Days". Gallup.com. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ^ "Gallup.com". FiveThirtyEight.com. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ "Gallup.com". Gallup.com. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ "Gallup.com". Gallup.com. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Gallup Daily: Trump Job Approval". Gallup. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ "Trump Job Approval (Weekly)". Gallup. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Donald Trump". Gallup. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ Jeffrey M. Jones (April 24, 2018). "Trump's Fifth-Quarter Job Approval Up; Still Historically Low". Gallup.
- ^ Graphical display and numbers of Gallup "daily tracking" polls
- ^ "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Barack Obama".
- ^ "Gallup.com". Gallup.com. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Bill Clinton". gallup.com. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for George H. W. Bush". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Ronald Reagan". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Jimmy Carter". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Gerald Ford". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Richard Nixon". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Lyndon B. Johnson". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for John F. Kennedy". American Presidency Project.
- ^ Presidential Job Approval for "Dwight D. Eisenhower". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Harry S. Truman". American Presidency Project.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Franklin D. Roosevelt". American Presidency Project.
- ^ Lydia Saad (March 29, 2017). "Trump's Approval Rating Unusually Low, Unusually Early". Gallup. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ The American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara.
- ^ Inc, Gallup (February 4, 2021). "Biden Begins Term With 57% Job Approval". Gallup.com.
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External links
- "Historical Presidential Job Performance Ratings". Roper Center.
- "Trump approval ratings". FiveThirtyEight.
- "Midterm Presidential Approval Ratings". Data360.
- "President Job Approval Ratings". PresidentPollsUSA.
- "Historical Presidential Approval Ratings 1945–2009". The Wall Street Journal.
- "President Obama's Ongoing Job Approval". (CongressRatings)