Close to the end of his time in office, President Donald Trump’s approval rating has reached an all-time low. According to a Gallup survey carried out between Jan 4 and 15, only 34 percent of U.S. adults approved of the president. The lowest previous rating had been 35 percent, which Trump hit several times in 2017.
Comparing President Barack Obama’s and President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings in relation to the time they’ve been in office, both initially came pretty close of each other in their third year. In early 2020, Trump’s ratings picked up, hitting 49 percent at the end of January (month 36) during impeachment hearings in the Senate and overtaking Obama’s at the time. According to Gallup, Obama’s approval rating was only 45 percent at the same time in January 2012.
Trump’s approval ratings rose from a low 39 percent in early October 2019 after formal impeachment proceedings started. Obama started his presidency at a much higher approval rating than Trump, but found himself in the same lull at 40 percent in October 2011, following low job creation and a feud with the Republicans about raising the debt ceiling. In 2012, Obama was able to recover his ratings somewhat and reached 47 percent in late July after the Affordable Care Act was upheld by the Supreme Court.
This chart shows the development of approval ratings for U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump from the start of their first term in office.
