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President Donald Trump's approval ratings for the first eight months of both his first and second terms in office are reportedly lower than any other modern president in the same time frame, according to a historical analysis by Gallup.
Trump was previously reported to have a 36% approval rating in August 2017 and 40% for August 2025, both of which are lower than every single president since Ronald Reagan in August 1981. The full list of modern presidential approval ratings through their first eight months is included below:
- Donald Trump (August 2025)- 40% approve
- Joe Biden (August 2021)- 49% approve
- Donald Trump (August 2021)- 36% approve
- Barack Obama (August 2009)- 53% approve
- George W. Bush (August 2001)- 56% approve
- Bill Clinton (August 1993)- 44% approve
- George H.W. Bush (August 1989)- 69% approve
- Ronald Reagan (August 1981)- 60% approve
Last week, Trump's approval rating set a new low for his second term in the Quinnipiac University poll. The survey, which was conducted over a five-day span and concluded on August 25, had Trump at a 37% approval rating and a 55% disapproval rating, with a net negative 18-point approval rating, the lowest since January 2021, the final month of his first term in office.
The poll also marked a 21-point drop for Trump since his inauguration in January, when he entered his second term with a 46% approval and 43% disapproval rating. Last Tuesday (August 26), Gallup released a poll showing a historic divide among Trump's approval rating.
The president is reported to have a 40% overall job approval rating with 93% of Republicans supporting his performance compared to just 1% among Democrats. The 92-point difference matches largest-ever partisan divide he previously set during his first term in October 2020, with no other president ever exceeding a gap of 86 points.
Additionally, the reported 1% of Democrat support is tied with the previous low set by Trump in June. The YouGov/Economist poll conducted between August 15 and 18 previously showed that 47% of respondents strongly disapprove Trump's second term in office compared to 23% who strongly approve his job performance.
Only 27% of respondents say they either "somewhat approve" or "somewhat disapprove" the president's second term performance. Trump previously had a 43% strongly disapprove rating in the YouGov/Economist poll conducted earlier this month. The president began his term with a 36% strongly disapprove rating and a 34% strongly approve rating.