That’s going to leave a mark.
In sizing up President Trump’s average approval rating as it appears he’s heading for the door, defeated by Joe Biden, Gallup has determined that he will leave with the lowest numbers of any modern day chief executive.
What’s more, the polling service compared his post-election approval rating drop to that of former President Jimmy Carter in 1980 after losing to Ronald Reagan, and of the Democratic Party led by Hillary Rodham Clinton after her 2016 loss to Trump.
At an average of 41% in the Gallup approval rating, the polling giant said, “Trump is all but certain to leave office with the lowest average approval rating for a U.S. president.”
However, as his foes try to grind his legacy into the dirt and portray Biden’s win as heavenly salvation, Gallup had a few warnings in its latest survey that point to an extremely divided nation and hope for a Trump comeback.
First, the survey is the latest confirmation that the GOP has become the party of Trump. His job approval among Republicans, for example, is at 90%. That is down from his pre-election 95%, which prompted Gallup to note that only Trump and Carter saw their approval numbers drop after a defeating election.
Two other defeated presidents, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, saw their approvals increase after the election. But, said Gallup, “they did not have nearly the same level of support within the party base before their elections that Trump did.”
Also, despite the efforts by Democrats and the media to rip Trump’s refusal to concede, the president isn’t taking a big hit on his approval rating, now at 43%, down three points in the last few weeks.
