Politics

JUST IN: Trump Scores Record-High Approval Rating In First Post-Election Survey

Published

1 month ago

November 20, 2024

The first approval ratings for President-elect Donald Trump are red hot, another indication that Americans are enthusiastic about the return of America First policies to the White House.

The Hill reported that 54% of respondents told pollsters they approve of Trump so far, a surprising figure given the Republican’s consistent unfavorable ratings by a sizable minority of the electorate. His position is now 20 points higher than when he left the White House in 2021. The Harvard CAPS/Harris-sponsored poll found that 91% of Republicans approve of the job Trump is doing compared to 49% of independents and 22% of Democrats. About three-quarters of Democrats and 40% of independents disapproved of his handling of the transition.

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Fondness for President-elect Trump and the MAGA agenda stretches across age groups as well. “The poll found at least a plurality of respondents approve of Trump’s performance for most age groups, including a majority of those ages 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44 and 45 to 54. More 55-to-64-year-olds approve than disapprove, while a slight majority of those ages 65 and older disapprove,” the outlet reported. Trump’s ability to win over Gen Z and millennial voters turns on its head the theory that younger voters tend to skew liberal while his struggles with senior voters may be attributed to his brash and unorthodox style of politics.

President Joe Biden appears to be leaving office with a 12-point lower approval rating than Trump; he registered at 42%, a moderate-to-low position the Democrat has stagnated in for months. Trump, who never cracked the 50% mark while in office, will benefit greatly from the goodwill of voters who have already shown they approve of his nominations for high-level positions within his nascent administration. “It’s a good start he is above 50 in job approval so far — it will be important for him to stay above that level to govern effectively,” pollster Mark Penn said.

Republicans will start 2025 with narrow majorities in the U.S. Senate and House and a mandate to govern without Democratic votes as long as they can keep both caucuses in line. The number of voters polled who support the Republican Party has ticked up a bit, rising from 46% last month to 49% in the latest poll while approval of the Democratic Party has slipped to 44% compared to 47% the prior month. The GOP has a long way to go to convince voters that the county is on the right track: just over a quarter said so, down 4 points from October, the outlet added.

Further into the results, a slim majority of respondents believe Trump will unite the country while a little less than half believe he is a threat to democracy. Democrats answered that they most fear President-elect Trump will pose a threat to democratic institutions, will act like a dictator, and will push federal agencies too far to the right. Republicans said they are most concerned about far-left protests and political gridlock stymying Trump’s planned reforms. The poll encapsulated responses from 1,732 registered voters and was in the field from November 13th to the 14th.