Presidents usually get a ratings bump as they leave office. Trump is seeing the opposite.
One of the most remarkable features of President Donald Trump’s presidency has been the consistency of his approval ratings. It seemed that regardless of whatever he said or did, his approval would hover roughly around 40 percent, perhaps ticking up or down a few points depending on the news cycle. But it appears that in the final two weeks of his presidency, Trump has finally fallen through that floor. According to the Pew Research Center, Trump is leaving office with the lowest approval rating he’s had during his time in the White House, with just 29 percent of the public approving of his job performance. Other pollsters are finding similar drops, indicating that Trump’s role in inciting a violent mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, and his subsequent impeachment on January 13, marks a low of his presidency in the eyes of the public. What remains to be seen is if, or when, Trump’s image improves as he plans what could potentially be a very public post-presidency. According to Gallup, Trump’s job rating “remained more stable than those of his predecessors; it never surpassed 45 percent or dipped below 36 percent.
