As of December 3, an Economist/YouGov poll found that 41% of registered voters approved of the job that President trump is doing as president while 50% disapprove. 38% of women approve of the job he is doing along with 45% of men, while 55% of women disapprove along with 47% of men.
The split between folks who see themselves as supporters of one party or the other could not be more clear. 89% of Republicans approve the job he is doing while 10% disapprove. And no surprise, 88% of Democrats disapprove of his performance while only 10% approve.
Among Independents 38% approve his performance and 45% disapprove. 18% of independents did not express an opinion while only 2% of Democrats and 2% of Republicans did not have an opinion.
An interesting dichotomy that this survey demonstrates is the role that age seems to play in levels of support for the president’s performance. Among those between the ages of 18-29, 23% support the president’s performance while 60% disapprove. Among those 65 and older, 57% approve of his performance and 40% disapprove. This split based on age can be found on a variety of issues from immigration to healthcare to the environment and abortion.
In a December 3rd Reuters survey, 39% approve of the job that the president is doing while 43% disapprove. 45% of registered voters think the president should be impeached while an equal number say he should not be impeached.
A Quinnipiac survey of registered voters completed on November 25th found 40% approving of how Trump is doing his job and 54% disapproving. 45%, including 36% of men and 53% of women, think Trump should be impeached while 48% including 58% of men and 40% of women think he should not be impeached.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll completed on November 24, found that among registered voters 40% approve of the job Trump is doing while 56% disapprove. 48% support the current efforts to impeach the president while 43% oppose those efforts.
Gallup now does monthly or semi-monthly surveys. WW will include a periodic polling summary–Registered and Likely Voters–by FiveThirtyEight.
| Gallup (all adults) | FiveThirtyEight (Registered / Likely voters) | |||
| Date | Approval | Dis-approval | Approval | Dis-approval |
| 11/14/19 | 43% | 54% | 41% | 54.7% |
| 10/31/19 | 41% | 57% | 42% | 53.9% |
| 9/30/19 | 40% | 56% | 42.1% | 53.8% |
| 8/30/19 | 39% | 57% | 41.3% | 54.2% |
| 7/31/19 | 42% | 54% | 42.5% | 52.9% |
| 6/16/19 | 43% | 55% | 42.6% | 53.0% |
| 5/12/19 | 42% | 52% | 42.4% | 52.4% |
| 4/9/19 | 45% | 51% | 42% | 52.7% |
| 3/10/19 | 39% | 57% | 41.8% | 53.4% |
| 2/10/19 | 44% | 52% | 40.2% | 55.1% |
| 1/27/19 | 37% | 59% | 40.4% | 55.6% |
| 12/22/18 | 39% | 55% | 42.2% | 52.8% |
| 9/30/18 | 42% | 53% | 41.5% | 52.7% |
| 7/1/18 | 42% | 53% | 41.8% | 52.3% |
| 1/14/18 | 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” or “L” which means “likely voters”.
| Date | NBC / WSJ | WP / ABC | CNN | CBS | FOX |
| OCT ’19 | 45/53A | 39/59 | xx | xx | 42/57 |
| OCT ’19 | 43/53A | 38/58A | 42/57 | xx | 43/55 |
| SEPT ’19 | 45/53 | 38/56A | 39/56A | xx | xx |
| AUG’19 | 43/55A | xx | 41/54 | xx | 43/56 |
| JUL ’19 | 45/52 | 47/50 | xx | xx | 46/51 |
| JAN ’19 | 43/54A | 38/58 | 37/57A | 36/59A | 43/54 |
| DEC ’18 | 43/54A | xx | 39/52 | xx | 46/52 |
| JAN ’18 | 39/57A | 38/58 | 43/53 | 37/58cbsA | 45/53 |
| DEC ’17 | 41/56 | xxx | 36/59cnn | 36/57 cbsA | xxx |
| JAN ’17 | xxx | xxx | 44/53 | 40/48 cbs | xxx |
The following are presidential job approval numbers from Gallup roughly 35 months into their first term (Johnson is an exception). Since Gallup is no longer providing a steady stream of approval ratings, WW will use various other surveys to provide approval numbers on the current president when timely Gallup numbers are not available.
| Eisenhower | 72% (12/55) |
| Johnson | 74% (12/63) |
| GW Bush | 63% (12/03) |
| Reagan | 54% (12/83) |
| Carter | 54% (12/79) |
| GHW Bush | 52% (12/91) |
| Clinton | 51% (12/95) |
| Nixon | 50% (12/71) |
| Trump | 43.7% (12/19 – RCP Average) |
| Obama | 43% (12/11) |
On economic policy, Trump’s approval ratings continue to be on a positive track.
| Approve | Disapprove | ||
| 12/3/19 | 52% | 42% | Econ/YouGov(RV) |
| 10/22/19 | 49% | 45% | Econ/YouGov(RV) |
| 9/9/19 | 48% | 48% | CNN (RV) |
| 7/23/19 | 52% | 41% | Fox News (RV) |
| 6/11/19 | 53% | 43% | Econ/Yougov RV |
| 5/14/19 | 48% | 46% | Fox News (RV) |
| 4/16/19 | 47% | 46% | Reuters/Ipsos (A) |
| 3/26/19 | 50% | 45% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 2/2/19 | 49% | 45% | CNN (RV) |
| 1/1/19 | 47% | 46% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 7/18/18 | 50% | 34% | NBC/WSJ |
| 1/16/18 | 46% | 49% | CBS News |
On foreign policy, Trump’s approval ratings remain in negative territory.
| Approve | Disapprove | ||
| 12/3/19 | 45% | 49% | Econ/YouGov(RV) |
| 10/22/19 | 42% | 51% | Econ/YouGov(RV) |
| 9/9/19 | 40% | 50% | CNN (RV) |
| 7/30/19 | 41% | 51% | Economist (RV) |
| 6/11/19 | 46% | 50% | Econ/YouGov (R) |
| 5/14/19 | 43% | 49% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 4/16/19 | 39% | 52% | Reuters (A) |
| 3/26/19 | 44% | 50% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 2/19/19 | 44% | 50% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 1/1/19 | 42% | 51% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 7/18/18 | 38% | 45% | NBC/WSJ |
| 1/16/18 | 36% | 60% | NBC/WSJ |
Judges Nominated and Confirmed to Date
Because the U.S. Senate remains in Republican hands and the filibuster is no more, the President can continue unchecked his goal of remaking the federal judiciary.
| Total | Supreme Ct | Appeals Ct | District Ct | |
| Trump – thru 12/5/19 | 170 | 2 | 48 | 120 |
| Obama – 8 years | 329 | 2 | 55 | 268 |
| GW Bush – 8 years | 327 | 2 | 62 | 261 |
| Clinton – 8 years | 378 | 2 | 66 | 305 |
| GHW Bush – 4 years | 193 | 2 | 42 | 148 |
| Reagan | 383 | 3 | 83 | 290 |
| Carter | 262 | 0 | 56 | 203 |
There are currently several nominations awaiting Senate action: 4 seats on the Courts of Appeals and 43 seats on the District Courts.
There is currently one vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals and 79 vacancies on the U.S. District Courts. [USCourts/Wikipedia/List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump]
Disassembling
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed a rule on Friday that would increase citizenship application fees by 83% and require asylum seekers to pay to apply for protection for the first time in U.S. history. [Law360Public Policy 11/8/19]
The administration announced that it would make it harder for children born to U.S. servicemembers serving abroad to claim U.S. citizenship. The policy would affect only service members who are naturalized citizens and deployed before establishing U.S. residency. This is consistent with Trump’s policy to limit both the level of immigration and illegal immigration generally. [WP 9/6/19]
The Trump administration has formalized work requirements for recipients of food stamps, a move that will cause nearly 700,000 people to lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.
This rule change affects people between the ages of 18 and 49 who are childless and not disabled and limits the ability of states to issue waivers to people in that demographic. [NBC News 12/4/19]
The EPA is pushing forward with a policy that could limit the science the agency uses to underpin regulations, a change long sought by conservatives but derided by many scientists and public health experts in an effort to stifle reliance on research into the harmful effects of pollution on Americans. [WP 11/13/19]
The EPA has also weakened an Obama-era rule governing how firms store dangerous chemicals. Companies will not have to provide public access to information about what kinds of chemicals are stored on their sites. [WP 11/22/19]
The Trump administration announced a plan that could allow oil drilling on over three-quarters of the nation’s largest piece of unprotected wilderness, overhauling a 2013 plan that limited development on the Alaskan reserve. [WP 11/22/19]
The administration has announced a new proposal that would allow foster care and adoption agencies to deny their services to LGBT families on faith-based grounds, rolling back at 2016 discrimination regulation issues by former President Obama. [PRRI The Buzz 11/4/19]
The EPA on Wednesday said it isn’t necessary to force petroleum-based and coal-based product manufacturers to set aside money to cover pollution cleanups that may result from their operations. [Law360 12/5/19]