--- description: President Donald Trump has received low approval ratings that are worse than any other president's over several decades, according to a poll title: President Trump's Approval Rating Is Lower Than Any Modern President image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ef5f54534f69085/6988e379196cf4a0eb0427c6/donald-trump-opioid-crisis-public-health-emergency.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [president trump](/tag/president-trump/) ## president trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump's Approval Rating Is Lower Than Any Modern President by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2017 5:01 PM CUT  US President Donald Trump talks to reporters before boarding Marine One to depart from the White House on October 25, 2017 in Washington DC. US President Donald Trump talks to reporters before boarding Marine One to depart from the White House on October 25, 2017 in Washington DC.Olivier Douliery—Abaca Press/AP Images by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2017 5:01 PM CUT Ahead of the first anniversary of his 2016 presidential election victor, [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5010608/president-trump-asia-trip/ "undefined") has received low approval ratings that are worse than any other president’s over the past several decades, according [to a new poll](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-trumps-performance-lags-behind-even-tepid-public-expectations/2017/11/04/35d2a912-bf4d-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00%5Fstory.html?hpid=hp%5Fhp-top-table-main%5Fpoll-1205am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm%5Fterm=.b094c946fb35 "undefined"). A [Washington _Post_\-ABC News poll](https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2017/11/05/National-Politics/Polling/release%5F502.xml "undefined") released Sunday found that Trump has a 37% approval rating about nine months into his time as president. That’s a lower number than other president’s approval ratings at the same time in their tenures over the course of seven decades of polling, according to the _Post_. With a 59% disapproval rating, Trump’s approval margin is -22 — the only president to have a negative margin in decades, according to the poll. Former President Barack Obama had a 57% approval rating and 40% disapproval rating — a margin of 17 — at the same time during his tenure in November 2009\. Former President George W. Bush had a 89% approval rating and a 9% disapproval rating — a margin of 80 — at this time in November 2001\. And former President Bill Clinton had an approval rating of 52% and a disapproval rating of 41% in November 1993 — making his margin 11, the lowest before Trump’s -22% margin in recent history. Trump’s approval rating has fallen since he took office. He has faced a number of controversies while in the Oval Office, including the recent [indictments](http://time.com/5002802/paul-manafort-rick-gates-mueller-charges-conspiracy/ "undefined") that came as a result of the investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 election, the controversial [responses](http://time.com/4942797/donald-trump-tim-scott-both-sides-charlottesville-antifa/ "undefined") to a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., and [hurricanes](http://time.com/4985125/donald-trump-hurricane-maria-approval-rating-puerto-rico/ "undefined") that have hit the U.S. and its territories, as well as Trump’s difficulty pushing through promised legislation, like the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. According to the _Post_‘s poll, 65% of Americans said Trump had accomplished “not much” or “little to nothing” since starting in the White House in January. Additionally, 55% of Americans said Trump was not keeping his major campaign promises — up from 41% who said the same in the spring, according to the poll. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5010653/donald-trump-approval-ratings-low-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5010653/donald-trump-approval-ratings-low-poll/"},"headline":"President Trump's Approval Rating Is Lower Than Any Modern President","datePublished":"2017-11-05T17:01:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:07:12.429Z","description":"Former presidents Barack Obama and George W. 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