Trump Claims He’s The ‘Highest Polling Republican President In History’—Here’s Why That’s Misleading
Topline
President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday he is the “Highest polling Republican President in HISTORY,” repeating a questionable claim he also made during first term as his approval rating was below 50% in two polls this week.
“Wow! Highest polling Republican President in HISTORY! Thank you,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, though it’s unclear which polls he was referencing.
Trump could have been referring to a polling aggregation by CNN last month that showed 63% of Republican voters strongly approve of Trump five months into his second term, compared to 53% during this point in his first term, what Enten called “history making,” as Trump’s rating beat all other former Republican presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan.
When factoring in Democrats and independents, however, Trump has some of the worst approval ratings, tying former President Joe Biden, according to other surveys.
Trump’s average approval ratings during both his first and second terms are below those of all previous presidents dating back to Harry Truman, other than Biden, who had the same average approval rating as Trump does for his second term (42%), according to Gallup polling, the longest-running presidential pollster.
Meanwhile, two polls this week show Trump’s net approval rating ranges from -12 to -6: his overall rating ticked up two points in the Economist/YouGov’s weekly poll, but declined three points in Morning Consult’s weekly survey, which also found his approval rating dipped back to a record 45% low for his second term.
Trump made a similar claim during his first term, tweeting in July 2018 that he had the “highest poll numbers in the history of the Republican Party,” though Gallup data shows both George H.W. Bush and Dwight Eisenhower both had higher approval ratings than Trump’s 85% rating at the same point in their terms, Politifact reported.
37%. That’s the share of Republicans and U.S. adults who lean Republican who said Trump had done the best job as president over the past 40 years, according to a Pew Research survey of U.S. adults conducted July 10-16, 2023, before the start of his second term. Reagan led Trump, with 41% of Republicans or U.S. adults who lean Republican, saying Trump did the best job.
Trump’s approval rating among Republicans has declined steadily since the start of his second term, according to YouGov polling that found 92% of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents approved of Trump in January. His approval rating had dropped to 83% among Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents as of Tuesday.
Trump began his second term with a 52% approval rating, according to Nate Silver’s polling average, though his numbers entered the red sometime in mid-March, and 52% now disapprove of his job performance, compared to 44% who approve. After a consistent decline between June and July—largely tied to his wide-ranging tariffs—Trump’s numbers have stabilized over the past two weeks, with his net approval rating fluctuating 0.3 percentage points since Aug. 1, between -8.5 and -8.9.
Trump’s Approval Rating: Inches Up In 1 Poll This Week, Hits Record Low In Another (Forbes)