Earlier this week, Gallup reported that Trump’s approval rating had hit an all-time high for him, and even higher than Obama at the same point of his presidency. Today, there’s even more good news for Trump. USA Today reports today that Trump’s approval rating “has surged to its highest level since his first month in office, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.”
The average approval rating for the president’s performance is at 45.1%, according to the average of polls calculated by the site. The last time Trump hit that mark was Feb. 21, 2017. The highest number his average job approval reached on RCP was 46% on Feb. 4. The lowest was 37%, which came on Dec. 13, 2017.
The apparent spike in Trump’s job approval comes after a flurry of positive economic data and the release of the redacted report from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which did not find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives trying to sway the 2016 election.
This comes even as Democrats are desperately trying to scandalize every aspect of his presidency. They have basically ignored the Mueller report and promised more investigations and many Democrats have called for his impeachment or the impeachment of Attorney General Barr—neither of which has public support. Trump’s poll numbers have been historically below that of other presidents, so it’s actually difficult to say whether the conventional wisdom that a sitting president needs 50 percent approval or higher to be assured reelection. Trump’s average approval rating has never been at or above 50 percent in the RealClearPolitics average, even at the start of his presidency. This is mostly a reflection of how partisan approval ratings have become, especially over the past twenty years or so. Prior to Trump, Obama had the most partisan approval ratings in history, and before that George W. Bush had the most partisan approval rating in history.
Trump’s fate next November will most definitely be tied to the economy. Right now, the economy is strong—so strong in fact that liberals are trying to give Obama credit for it. But it’s also worth noting that even as Democrats scream their heads off about impeachment, Russia, and constitutional crises, none of that seems to be hurting him. Americans have moved on from the Russian collusion and obstruction of justice nonsense. If Democrats don’t start shifting gears and at least pretend to be doing what the people want them to do, it seems likely their scandalmongering will backfire.
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Matt Margolis is the author of The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama and the bestselling The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. His new book, Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy, will be published in July 2019. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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