6 days Ago
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty Images Eight years ago, Donald Trump was a controversial new president whose election via an inside straight in the Electoral College was widely considered a startling surprise, maybe even to himself. Despite inheriting a steadily growing economy with virtually no inflation, after 100 days in office he posted by far the lowest approval rating of any new president at that stage of his tenure dating back to the Eisenhower administration — indeed, the only one who wasn't over 50 percent in what was usually a "honeymoon" of public opinion. He was also well on his way to a poor midterm performance by his party and eventually a reelection defeat (albeit one he never accepted).
As we approach the 100-day mark in 2025, Trump is rapidly becoming as unpopular as he was at this point in 2017, despite winning the national popular vote and sweeping all seven swing states in November. As Silver Bulletin explained on April 27: After little movement between April 9th and 21st, Donald Trump's approval ratings are now falling rapidly. His net approval just hit -9.
1 in the Silver Bulletin average. That's the first time it's broken -9 during his second term. And it's only 0.
3 percentage points better than Trump's net approval rating at this point in his first term. In fact, Trump's disapproval rating is now higher than it was at this point in his first term. On day 98 of term one, 51.
8 percent of Americans disapproved of Donald Trump. Today — 98 days into term two — 53.2 percent of Americans disapprove.
The trend lines don't look good, moreover. We now have our first 2025 poll, from AP-NORC, showing Trump's approval rating dropping into the 30s (39 percent approval to 59 percent disapproval). Trump's net approval rating (per Silver Bulletin) has slid from minus-2.
6 percent to minus-9.1 percent in the month of April. But it didn't just go south in April: On the day of his second inauguration, Trump's net approval rating was.
.. Ed Kilgore.
