Trump’s Approval Ratings: Still Underwater, Still Breaking Records (Just Not the Good Kind)

President Donald Trump has hit the ground running in his second term, moving at what his team proudly dubs "warp speed." The White House has been quick to boast about a flurry of executive orders and headline-grabbing moves, with Trump himself declaring, "We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started." Ambitious, sure. But do Americans feel the same rush of excitement?

According to the latest Gallup poll (conducted April 1-14), the mood is decidedly less enthusiastic. Trump’s approval sits at 44%, with 53% disapproving—a negative turn compared to the early days of his comeback. Most recent surveys echo this: Trump’s approval ratings have dipped compared to when he first re-entered the White House.

The reasons aren’t exactly obscure. Rising worries about the economy and inflation have taken a toll—issues that also haunted former President Joe Biden during his term. Trump’s recent blockbuster announcement on tariffs sparked a trade war and sent financial markets into a tailspin, fueling fears of a looming recession. Honestly, if the president’s goal was to shake things up, mission accomplished.

As usual, the country is split down the middle—well, almost. Gallup found that nine out of ten Republicans are still firmly in Trump’s corner, but only 4% of Democrats approve. Among Independents, approval drops to 37%, which, let’s be real, is not the number you want to flaunt at your victory party.

With Trump approaching three months into his second term, Gallup compared his numbers to those of past presidents. Trump’s average approval rating this first quarter is 45%, a slight bump from the 41% he managed early in his first term in 2017. But compared to the giants of the past, it’s not exactly a Hall of Fame stat sheet. Kennedy and Eisenhower soared above 70% in their first quarters, while Carter, Obama, and Reagan landed between 60% and 69%. Even George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Joe Biden, and Bill Clinton managed to post averages between 55% and 58%.

Gallup points out that Trump is the only president to have sub-50% average approval during the first quarter of a term. That’s a record, but maybe not the one you hang on your wall.

Of course, high early approval doesn’t guarantee a fairy-tale presidency. Carter’s numbers crashed after his strong start, and he lost re-election. Biden started in the low-to-mid 50s, but his ratings tanked after the Afghanistan withdrawal and rising inflation, leading to a one-and-done presidency.

So while Trump’s approval numbers aren’t stellar compared to his predecessors, history shows that early ratings can be fickle friends. Still, it’s hard to ignore: as far as first-quarter averages go, Trump is in a league of his own—just maybe not the league he’d hoped for.