President Donald Trump’s average favorability ratings have declined after an initial spike following his return to office, according to polling aggregators.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The drop in Trump’s favorability rating comes as the president faces criticism for several policies and actions. These include his ongoing efforts to downsize the federal government, which have resulted in thousands of workers being laid off, and his suggestion that the U.S. will “take over” the Gaza Strip and resettle Palestinians from the area while it is rebuilt.
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What to Know
According to 538’s live average tracker, Trump’s current favorability rating stands at 46.6 percent, with 48 percent unfavorable, giving the president a net unfavorable rating of plus 1.4.
This is just below the 1.6 net unfavorable rating Trump had on January 20, when he returned to the White House for his second term.
538’s tracker shows that Trump’s average favorability rating improved in the subsequent days, reaching a net high of plus 0.6 percentage points unfavorable between February 3 and 9 before sliding back down to its current level.
Trump’s favorability rating followed a similar trajectory on RealClearPolitics’ average tracker.
On January 20, the president’s net score was 0.2 percentage points unfavorable (48.1 percent unfavorable to 47.9 percent favorable).
By February 2, Trump’s net rating rose to plus 1.2 percentage points favorable. As of February 18, his overall score is back in negative territory (48.5 percent unfavorable to 47.9 percent favorable).
A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that a majority of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of Trump (52 percent), while 46 percent view him positively, giving the president a net favorability score of minus 6 percentage points.
The survey, conducted February 9-11 among 1,595 adults, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Elsewhere, a Morning Consult poll of 2,230 registered voters, conducted February 7-9, found Trump’s favorability rating at 47 percent, with 50 percent viewing him unfavorably.
What People Are Saying
Taylor Orth, director of survey data journalism at YouGov, and senior data journalist David Montgomery wrote in their February 12 analysis: “Trump’s popularity has particularly dropped among younger Americans. Two weeks ago, 50 percent of adults under 30 had a favorable opinion of Trump, while 46 percent had an unfavorable opinion; today, 39 percent have a favorable opinion and 57 percent have an unfavorable opinion.
“Trump’s favorability among adults aged 30 to 44 has also fallen, from 45 percent favorable/51 percent unfavorable to 42 percent favorable/55 percent unfavorable.”
Cameron Easley, Morning Consult’s head of U.S. political analysis, discussed poll results on February 10, saying: “The president’s net favorability rating is also back in the red. Voters are 3 percentage points more likely to have an unfavorable than favorable view of Trump. Those are his worst numbers since November, and also worse than they were at this time eight years ago.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen if Trump can improve his favorability rating among the public.
