On May 6, 2018, Gallup found that 42% of Americans approve of President Trump’s job performance and 52% disapprove. This is the highest job approval rating that Gallup has reported since Trump became president.
Beginning in 2018, Gallup is no longer providing a daily approval rating of the president. In the future, these reports will be dated weekly.
| Date | Approval | Disapproval |
| 5/6/18 | 42% | 52% |
| 4/22/18 | 38% | 57% |
| 4/8/18 | 41% | 54% |
| 3/11/18 | 39% | 56% |
| 2/11/18 | 40% | 57% |
| 1/14/18 | 38% | 57% |
| 12/31/17 | 39% | 55% |
| 12/1/17 | 33% | 62% |
| 11/1/17 | 38% | 58% |
| 10/1/17 | 37% | 57% |
| 9/1/17 | 34% | 61% |
| 4/1/17 | 38% | 57% |
The following are some additional looks at the President’s job performance. The numbers below are of registered voters unless followed by an “A” which means “all voters”. (QUPIAC = Quinnipiac)
| Date | NBC / WSJ | WP / ABC | CNN / ORC | NYT / CBS | FOX | QUPIAC |
| MAY ’18 | xx | xx | 44/51 | 40/55cbsA | xx | xx |
| APR ’18 | 39/57A | 44/54 | xx | xx | 44/53 | 39/54 |
| MAR ’18 | 43/53A | xx | 42/54 | 38/57cbsA | 45/52 | 40/53 |
| FEB ’18 | xx | xx | 39/56 | xx | 43/53 | 37/38 |
| JAN ’18 | 39/57A | 38/58 | 43/53 | 37/58cbsA | 45/53 | 36/58 |
| DEC ’17 | 41/56 | xxx | 36/59cnn | 36/57 cbsA | xxx | 37/57 |
| NOV ’17 | xxx | xxx | 38/57cnn | xxx | xxx | 38/55 |
| OCT ’17 | 38/58 A | 37/59 | 38/57cnn | 39/55cbsA | 38/57 | 38/56 |
| SEPT ’17 | 43/52 A | 42/54 | 37/56cnnA | xxx | 42/53 | 36/57 |
| JULY ’17 | xxx | 36/58A | xxx | xxx | 41/53 | xxx |
| MAY ’17 | 39/54 | xxx | xxx | xxx | 40/53 | 37/55 |
| APR ’17 | 40/54 | 42/53 | 44/54 | 43/49 cbs | xxx | 35/57 |
| JAN ’17 | xxx | xxx | 44/53 | 40/48 cbs | xxx | 36/44 |
The following are job approval numbers from Gallup for the last nine presidents and Trump. As you can see, Trump’s job approval rating by the public at large is the worst of any president since Eisenhower at this point in their tenure with the exception of Jimmy Carter.
Job Approval – Roughly 15 months into the 1st term
| GW Bush | 76% (5/02) |
| Kennedy | 74% (5/62) |
| GHW Bush | 65% (5/90) |
| Eisenhower | 60% (5/54) |
| Nixon | 59% (5/70) |
| Cliton | 51% (5/94) |
| Carter | 41% (5/78) |
| Obama | 48% (5/10) |
| Reagan | 45% (5/82) |
| Trump | 42% (5/18) |
On the economy, Trump’s approval ratings have been within a 3 point range since the spring. His disapproval rating has been within an 8 point range since the spring. [Real Clear Politics]
| Approve | Disapprove | ||
| 5/6/18 | 50.3% | 44.8% | RCP average 4/6-5/6 |
| 5/6/18 | 47% | 46% | CBS News – all voters |
| 5/5/18 | 54% | 42% | CNN – Reg voters |
| 4/24/18 | 47% | 47% | Fox News |
| 4/11/18 | 49% | 46% | ABC/WP |
| 4/9/18 | 47% | 48% | Quinnipiac |
| 3/11/18 | 46% | 48% | CBS News |
| 2/27/18 | 49% | 44% | |
| 1/16/18 | 46% | 49% | |
| 12/5/17 | 42% | 52% | |
| 10/30/17 | 46% | 47% | |
| 9/24/17 | 43% | 46% | |
| 8/6/17 | 46% | 45% | |
| 6/18/17 | 42% | 51% | |
| 4/24/17 | 43% | 49% | |
| 3/28/17 | 44% | 55% |
On foreign policy, Trump’s approval ratings have been within a 10 point range since the spring and his disapproval rating has been in a 9 point range since the spring. Trump has not been even close to a positive rating this past year.
| Approve | Disapprove | ||
| 5/8/18 | 43.2% | 52.6% | RCP average 4/20-5/8 |
| 5/6/18 | 45% | 49% | CNN – Registered Voters |
| 4/9/18 | 39% | 55% | Quinnipiac |
| 3/25/18 | 41% | 52% | CNN |
| 3/5/18 | 33% | 61% | Quinnipiac |
| 2/5/18 | 37% | 57% | |
| 1/16/18 | 36% | 60% | |
| 11/13/17 | 37% | 58% | |
| 10/10/17 | 38% | 58% | |
| 9/26/17 | 38% | 57% | |
| 8/15/17 | 39% | 58% | |
| 6/27/17 | 38% | 57% | |
| 4/18/17 | 40% | 56% |
A quick review of polls shows that the President does better on all of the approval questions when the respondents are registered voters than when the sample includes all voters.
The following are a series of responses to a survey taken by CBS from May 3 to 6 about how President Trump is handling certain issues.
| Approve | Disapprove | |
| The situation with North Korea | 51% | 39% |
| Immigration | 40 | 57 |
| Trade | 40 | 48 |
| Relations with Israel | 41 | 43 |
| Imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum | 36 | 50 |
Do you think Donald Trump’s policies are making the United States more respected around the world, less respected or do they have no effect?
More respected 29%
Less respected 55%
No effect 15%
About President Trump
With the release of three American prisoners by North Korea (one of whom was captured during the Obama administration and two of whom were captured during the Trump administration), Trump has another significant accomplishment under his belt.
On May 8th, President Trump, refusing to heed the requests of our major European allies, pulled the United States out of the so-called Iran deal which was negotiated during the Obama administration. As a result, U.S. sanctions on Iran have been restored. Trump claims the Iranians have violated the deal. No one in the intelligence community of the U.S. or any other government shares that view. What happens next is anyone’s guess. [WW]
In February 2018, the tax reform law passed by President Trump and the Republican-held Congress was approved of by 51% of the public. 46% disapproved. In April, approval ranged from 27% to 42% and disapproval ranged from 36% to 52%. [Real Clear Politics]
There was a 17% drop in international students in the U.S. last year – mostly due to a 28% decline in Indian students and a 24% decline in Chinese students receiving visas. The downturn, which can be partially attributed to President Trump’s immigration policies, could have a notable economic effect. Foreign students contributed $36.9 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2016-2017 academic year. The fall off is having a substantial adverse impact on U.S. colleges and universities.
There has been a large increase in the number of foreign students who have chosen to go to countries like Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, Japan and Spain to name a few. [Morning Shift, Politico.com, 4/23/18]
In commenting about funding for the border wall, President Trump said in a speech in Michigan on April 28th, “We come up again on September 28th, and if we don’t get border security, we’ll have no choice. We’ll close down the country because we need border security.” [Morning Shift, Politico.com, 4/30/18]
As of May 6, 2018 the Washington Post has identified 3,001 false or misleading claims President Trump has made since taking office. He is now averaging 6.5 false or misleading claims a day. During the president’s first
100 days he was only averaging 4.9 false or misleading claims a day.
It remains an open question whether Trump knows when he is uttering a falsehood or actually believes what he is saying.