President Trump’s Job Approval Rating Up to 49%; 60% Approve Of COVID-19 Response

Authored by Jeffrey M. Jones via Gallup

Story Highlights

• Approval rating up five percentage points from prior poll

• 60% approve of president’s response to COVID-19

• Job approval higher among independents, Democrats

* * *

President Donald Trump may be enjoying a small rally in public
support as the nation faces the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-nine
percent of U.S. adults, up from 44% earlier this month, approve of
the job Trump is doing as president. Trump also had 49% job
approval ratings — the best of
his presidency — in late January and early February around the
time of the
Senate impeachment trial that resulted in his acquittal.

Independents’ and Democrats’ approval of Trump’s performance has
increased slightly since earlier this month, tying as the best he
has registered to date among each group. The president’s approval
rating among Republicans was already above 90%, and remains so —
but is not currently his highest on record (94% in late
January).

Trump’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic may be behind
his higher overall approval rating. Americans give the president
generally positive reviews for his handling of the situation, with
60% approving and 38% disapproving. Ninety-four percent of
Republicans, 60% of independents and 27% of Democrats approve of
his response.

The Trump administration has received some criticism for its
response to the COVID-19 pandemic — including that the president
downplayed the threat, at least up until his nationally televised
address on March 11. On March 16, Trump acknowledged the
seriousness of the situation by urging people to avoid gatherings
of more than 10 people and to have workers and students stay home
if possible. The administration has had daily press conferences
since then to update the nation on what the federal government is
doing to address the situation.

A Trump ‘Rally’?

Two aspects of Trump’s latest approval rating suggest a
presidential approval rally effect. His rating shows a fairly
sudden increase, and that increase is seen among both independents
and Democrats — both highly unusual for Trump in particular.

Historically, presidential job approval has increased when the
nation is under threat. Every president from
Franklin Roosevelt through George W. Bush saw their approval
rating surge at least 10 points after a significant national event
of this kind. Bush’s 35-point increase after 9/11 is the most
notable rally effect on record.

During these rallies, independents and supporters of the
opposing party to the president typically show heightened support
for the commander in chief.

Significant rally effects appear to be a relic of the past as
political polarization in presidential approval ratings has reached
new levels. Presidential approval ratings today are characterized
by
consistent, exceedingly low approval ratings from opponents of the
president’s party. As a result, neither Barack Obama nor Trump
saw rally effects as big as those of their predecessors, because
their usual opponents were reluctant to approve of them regardless
of what was happening in the country.

At most, Obama’s approval rating rose by seven points after

U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011. (He had a
smaller five-point rally in support after the December 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.)

Seven points is also the largest short-term increase in approval
for Trump. His approval rating increased from 37% to 44% in

February 2019 after the federal government shutdown ended and
Trump touted U.S. economic gains in his State of the Union address.
Trump’s job approval rating increased six points in
April 2019 after special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation
into Trump campaign ties with Russia officially concluded; at that
time, Attorney General William Barr largely cleared the president
of wrongdoing. Trump’s job approval rating also increased five
points earlier this year when it was clear he would be acquitted in
the Senate impeachment trial.

Explore President Trump’s approval ratings and compare them with
those of past presidents in the
Gallup Presidential Job Approval Center.

View complete question responses and trends (PDF download).

Learn more about how the Gallup
Poll Social Series works.