Experts have taken a closer look at Donald Trump’s approval ratings, comparing them with those of previous presidents at similar stages in their terms.
Since being inaugurated for his second term on January 20, President Trump has been active in addressing key trade and immigration promises. This includes implementing a 25 percent tariff on products from countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and the European Union, and invoking an 18th-century law to accelerate mass deportations.
In a controversial move, Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by his close associate Elon Musk, has eliminated several government departments and humanitarian initiatives to reduce what he considers wasteful federal spending.
Another significant event was Trump’s tense dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Gallup reports a 46 percent approval rating for Trump, which is below the historical average of 52 percent for U.S. presidents from 1938 to 2025. In contrast, Joe Biden had a 54 percent approval rating, Barack Obama had 64 percent, and George W. Bush had 59 percent at similar points in their presidencies. John Kennedy held the highest rating at 72 percent in February 1961.
Trump’s current approval rating surpasses his first-term average of 41 percent from 2017 to 2021, as well as his 39 percent rating in March 2017 during his first term.
Experts anticipate a decline in presidential approval ratings following the initial ‘honeymoon period.’ Costas Panagopoulos, a political science expert at Northeastern University, suggests voters may have reservations about early policies of the Trump administration, as noted by USA Today.
“There are a lot of people who dismissed other claims and comments that he made during the campaign because they expected that his priorities would be in line with things that they wanted,” he told the news outlet, highlighting the economy and inflation as significant concerns.
“Now they’re seeing well that might not be the case.”
Panagopoulos also points out that the approval ratings reflect a polarized electorate, intensified by divided Democrats and a cohesive Republican front.
“At least for now, that might be artificially inflating Trump’s approval numbers overall, but specifically among Republicans,” he continued. “People are not going to move away from Trump until they have an alternative they can move towards.”