His widely perceived incompetence in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy, and the 22 million newly unemployed Americans under his watch saw president Donald Trump's approval rating plunge by the largest ever in his presidency.
A new poll by the Gallup, Inc. released Thursday and conducted from April 1 to 14 revealed a 43% job approval rating for Trump, a six-point plunge from his approval rating of 49% in Gallup's previous poll released March 24.
"The six-point decline in the president's approval rating is the sharpest drop Gallup has recorded for the Trump presidency so far, largely because Trump's ratings have been highly stable and have yet to reach the historical average for presidents (back to 1945) of 53%," said Gallup in its analysis of the poll results.
His approval rating of 49% in the March Gallup poll amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic tied for the best of his presidency. Gallup said even with the six-point decline in April, Trump's approval rating remains above his historic average. On the other hand, Trump's average approval rating since taking office is only 40% -- not enough for re-election.
Gallup said the support Trump enjoyed from the American public as he rallied the U.S. in March to combat the pandemic has now faded away. It pointed out the COVID-19 health crisis and the ongoing economic recession are undoubtedly "the greatest challenge of his presidency so far -- and could imperil his standing in the final year of his first term as he seeks re-election."
Gallup pointed out since its mid-March poll, Trump's job approval rating has fallen six points among Democrats (to 7%) and four points among independents (to 39%). Higher approval ratings among these groups helped fuel the short-lived rally in approval for Trump in March. Republicans' evaluations of Trump have remained stable throughout this year, and is currently at 93% approval.
The COVID-19 pandemic is badly battering the U.S. and its institutions in unprecedented ways, creating painful challenges for leaders. Given this, Gallup said it's unsurprising fewer Americans are satisfied with the way things are going compared to a month ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led Americans to despair of their misfortunes. The new Gallup poll shows only 30% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., which is a huge 12-point drop since the prior reading in early March, and an indication of the way they perceive Trump.
The severity of this plune can be seen when one is reminded a monthly drop this large has only been recorded twice over the past two decades by Gallup. The first was in October 2008, the month that saw the country plunge into the Great Recession. The second was in July 2016 after a string of mass shootings and multiple shootings of black men by white police officers, followed by retaliatory mass shootings of Dallas police officers in July.
Oddly, more Americans now approve of the job Congress is doing. The April Gallup poll showed 30% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing compared to 22% in the March poll. The apparently approved of the bipartisan work that led Congress to quickly pass the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which Trump signed into law on March 27. Gallup said this level of approval hasn't been seen in more than a decade.
It pointed out Congress' ratings ranged from 31% to 39% for most of 2009 when Barack Obama was on his presidential honeymoon and working with Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate. In October 2009, the rating sank below 30% and remained below that level for the next decade. Congress' approval rating plummeted to a record low of 9% in November 2013 after the federal government shutdown in the fall.
The Democrats' current approval rating of 29% is seven points higher than in March. Republicans' approval is up four points to 26% while 33% of independents approve of Congress now compared to 21% in March.
