United States presidential approval rating

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?"^[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 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.^[2] Harry S. Truman registered a 22% job approval rating (the lowest in Gallup's tracking) in a survey conducted February 9–14, 1952.^[3]

Historical comparison

Historical Gallup Poll approval highs and lows for each president since 1937^[4][5][6][a]

Order	President	Highest approval	Lowest approval	High – Low	Highest disapproval	Lowest disapproval	Highest margin	Lowest margin	Final poll	Approval average[4]	Polls per year
47	Donald Trump	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
46[7]	Joe Biden	57 (2021-02-02, 2021-04-21)[8]	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)	42	12
45[9]	Donald Trump	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)[10]	4 (2020-03-22)	−28 (2021-01-15)	34 (2021-01-15)	41	40
44[11]	Barack Obama	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	48.4
43[12]	George W. Bush	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)	49	33.7
42[13]	Bill Clinton	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)	55	28.5
41[14]	George H. W. Bush	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)	61	39.5
40[15]	Ronald Reagan	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)	53	37.0
39[16]	Jimmy Carter	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)	46	22.7
38[17]	Gerald Ford	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)	47	14.7
37[18]	Richard Nixon	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)	49	17.7
36[19]	Lyndon B. Johnson	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)	55	15.3
35[20]	John F. Kennedy	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)	70	13.7
34[21]	Dwight D. Eisenhower	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)	65	14.4
33[22]	Harry Truman	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)	45	8.4
32[23]	Franklin 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

Historical Gallup Poll approval at the beginning of each presidency since 1953^[24]

Order	President	Initial approval	Initial disapproval
47	Trump (second presidency)	47 (2025-01-29)	48 (2025-01-29)
46	Biden	57 (2021-02-02)	37 (2021-02-02)
45	Trump (first presidency)	45 (2017-01-22)	47 (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

Historical average polling approval of each presidency since 1953. Polling figures are the unweighted mean of both polling averages reported by Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight.^[25][26][27] Figures listed for President Joe Biden are current as of January 7, 2025 and will be updated through completion of the first term of his presidency. President Trump's second term polling numbers will be added upon start of his presidency on January 20, 2025. Effective March 17, 2025, President Trump's second term polling numbers will reflect only the unweighted mean of polling averages reported by Real Clear Politics given the closure of FiveThirtyEight due to employee cuts at ABC News Group by parent company Disney.^[28]

Order	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 (second term)	47	41	+6	—	—	—	—
46	Biden	57.5	37.5	+20	37.9	56.9	-19	-39
45	Trump (first term)	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

• Gallup Poll graphs of approval ratings for former presidents of the United States
• 
  Franklin D. Roosevelt
• 
  Harry S. Truman
• 
  Dwight D. Eisenhower
• 
  John F. Kennedy
• 
  Lyndon B. Johnson
• 
  Richard Nixon
• 
  Gerald Ford
• 
  Jimmy Carter
• 
  Ronald Reagan
• 
  George H. W. Bush
• 
  Bill Clinton
• 
  George W. Bush
• 
  Barack Obama
• 
  Donald Trump (first presidency)
• 
  Joe Biden (2021)

See also

• Historical rankings of presidents of the United States
• Opinion polling on the first Donald Trump administration
• Opinion polling on the second Donald Trump administration
• Opinion polling on the Joe Biden administration
• Opinion polling on the Ronald Reagan administration

Notes

1. Only the results of Gallup polls are included as no other poll results exist for presidents before President Clinton.