As of 10/4/20, a CNN poll found that 40% of registered voters approved of the job that President Trump is doing while 57% disapprove. 30% of women approve of the job he is doing along with 49% of men, while 67% of women disapprove along with 46% of men.
The split between folks who see themselves as supporters of one party or the other is as expected. 87% of Republicans approve of the job he is doing while 10% disapprove. And, no surprise, 95% of Democrats disapprove of his performance while only 2% approve.
Among Independents, 37% approve of his performance and 59% disapprove.
Among those between the ages of 18-34, 35% support the president’s performance while 60% disapprove.
Among those 65 and older, 38% approve of his performance and 61% disapprove.
Gallup now does monthly or semi-monthly surveys of all adults. 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 |
| 9/28/20 | 46% | 52% | 43.4% | 53.0% |
| 8/12/20 | 42% | 55% | 41.8% | 54.5% |
| 7/23/20 | 41% | 56% | 40.2% | 55.7% |
| 6/30/20 | 38% | 57% | 40.3% | 56.4% |
| 6/4/20 | 39% | 57% | 41.6% | 53.9% |
| 5/13/20 | 49% | 48% | 43.6% | 51.9% |
| 4/14/20 | 45% | 54% | 44.4% | 51.4% |
| 3/22/20 | 49% | 45% | 43.2% | 52.1% |
| 2/16/20 | 49% | 48% | 43.4% | 52.2% |
| 1/15/20 | 44% | 53% | 42.4% | 53.0% |
| 1/27/19 | 37% | 59% | 40.4% | 55.6% |
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 | FOX | QUINNIPIAC |
| OCT ’20 | 43/55 | 45/54 | 40/57 | xx | xx |
| SEP ’20 | 45/53 | 44/55 | 41/54 | 48/51 | 43/53 |
| AUG ’20 | 44/53 | 42/57 | 43/54 | 44/54 | xx |
| JULY ’20 | 42/56 | 40/58 | xx | 45/54 | 36/60 |
| JUNE ’20 | 45/53 | xx | 41/55 | 44/55 | 42/55 |
| MAY ’20 | xx | 45/53 | 46/51 | 44/54 | 42/53 |
| APR ’20 | 46/51 | xx | 44/53 | 49/49 | 45/51 |
| MAR ’20 | 46/51 | 49/47 | 45/52 | 48/51 | 41/54 |
| FEB ’20 | 47/50 | 46/42 | xx | xx | 43/53 |
| JAN ’20 | 46/51 | 47/50 | 45/51 | 45/54 | 43/52 |
| DEC ’19 | 44/54A | xx | 44/52 | 45/53 | 43/52 |
| JUL ’19 | 45/52 | 47/50 | xx | 46/51 | 40/54 |
The following are presidential job approval numbers from Gallup roughly 46 months into each president’s 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 | 75% (11/56) |
| Johnson | 70% (11/64)* |
| Nixon | 62% (11/72)* |
| Reagan | 58% (10/84) |
| Clinton | 57% (10/96) |
| GW Bush | 51% (10/04) |
| Ford | 53% (12/76)* |
| Obama | 50% (10/12) |
| Trump | 45% (10/20) – RCP Average |
| GHW Bush | 33% (10/92) |
| Carter | 31% (11/80) |
Donald Trump is the only president in the history of polling to never have a single day during his presidency in which a majority of Americans accorded him a positive job rating or a positive “personal feelings” score. [Peter Hart]
On economic policy, Trump’s approval rating is currently back to where it was in the 2nd quarter of the year.
| Approve | Disapprove | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/4/20 | 49% | 48% | CNN |
| 8/18/20 | 51% | 45% | Econ/YouGov RV |
| 7/7/20 | 49% | 47% | Econ/YouGov RV |
| 6/23/20 | 52% | 43% | Econ/YouGov RV |
| 6/16/20 | 49% | 46% | Fox RV |
| 6/15/20 | 52% | 45% | Quinnipiac RV |
| 5/26/20 | 52% | 44% | Econ/YouGov RV |
| 4/14/20 | 51% | 44% | Econ/YouGov(RV) |
| 2/17/20 | 53% | 38% | NBC/WSJ (RV) |
| 1/12/20 | 57% | 38% | Quinnipiac |
| 1/1/19 | 47% | 46% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 1/16/18 | 46% | 49% | NBC/WSJ |
On foreign policy, Trump’s approval ratings remain in negative territory.
| Approve | Disapprove | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/28/20 | 46% | 53% | Gallup (A) |
| 8/12/20 | 39% | 54% | Fox (RV) |
| 7/7/20 | 40% | 57% | Reuters (A) |
| 6/18/20 | 45% | 55% | Harris RV |
| 5/26/20 | 45% | 53% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 4/5/20 | 42% | 46% | Pol/MornConsult(RV) |
| 2/18/20 | 46% | 49% | Econ/YouGov(RV) |
| 1/12/20 | 43% | 53% | Quinnipiac |
| 1/1/19 | 42% | 51% | Econ/YouGov (RV) |
| 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. The chart below reflects the number of Article III court judges appointed by all U.S. presidents since Jimmy Carter.
| Total | Supreme Ct | Appeals Ct | District Ct | Int’l Trade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trump – thru 9/29/20 | 216 | 2 | 53 | 161 | 2 |
| Obama – 8 years | 325 | 2 | 55 | 268 | |
| GW Bush – 8 years | 325 | 2 | 62 | 261 | |
| Clinton – 8 years | 373 | 2 | 66 | 305 | |
| GHW Bush – 4 years | 192 | 2 | 42 | 148 | |
| Reagan – 8 years | 376 | 3 | 83 | 290 | |
| Carter – 4 years | 259 | 0 | 56 | 203 |
There are currently several nominations awaiting Senate action. 1 for the Supreme Court, 33 seats in the District Courts, and 1 seat on the Court of International Trade.
There are also currently 56 vacancies on the U.S. District Courts and 2 vacancies on the Court of International Trade.
[USCourts/Wikipedia/List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump]
Disassembling
The U.S. Department of Labor unveiled proposed regulations that would make it easier for companies to classify workers as independent contractors, excluding them from workplace protections like overtime pay and sick leave. [Public Policy Law 360 9/22/20]
The Trump administration has been quietly pulling money out of a fund for New York City firefights and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses, with nearly $4 million channeled to the federal government. The full amount of cash had been sent to the fund by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health but for several years the Treasury Department quietly withheld some of the money. [HuffPost 9/11/20]