Pathetic Trump sinking like the Titanic
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
Trump’s current approval ratings (as of early April 2026, roughly 15 months into his second term) are historically poor—among the weakest for any modern president at this stage of a presidency, and a sharp decline from his post-inauguration honeymoon.
Current Numbers (April 2026) Aggregates and recent polls show his job approval in the high 30s to low 40s, with a net rating deeply underwater:
Nate Silver’s average (updated April 2): Dipped below 40% approve for the first time in his second term; net approval ≈ –16.9 (main average) to –22 (adults only).
CNN Poll of Polls (late March): 37% approve / 61% disapprove.
CNN/SSRS poll (early April): Overall ≈ 35%, with economy handling at a career-low 31%.
Other trackers: RealClearPolitics still just over 41%; NYT/Silver below 40%; Harris Poll 43% (late March outlier); Reuters/Ipsos 36%.
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Disapproval is consistently in the mid-to-high 50s, with particularly bad numbers among independents (net as low as –43 to –45 in some polls) and on key issues like inflation/gas prices (76% disapproval on gas in one CNN poll).
The drop has been driven by economic concerns (persistent inflation, high gas prices) and the ongoing Iran war, according to multiple outlets.
Historical Context
Vs. Trump’s own record: His first-term average was 41% (the lowest post-WWII average per Gallup data). The second term started strong (45–52% in early 2025) but has now fallen to or below first-term levels. At comparable points (~15 months in), his current numbers are similar to or slightly worse than 2018.
Vs. other modern presidents: This is unusually low this early in a term. Most presidents (post-WWII) were still in the 45–55%+ range one year in; Trump’s second-term trajectory is described by analysts as the “weakest president this century” by net approval at this stage and the lowest after Year 1 since at least 1977.
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At this point, his averages sit below every president back to Harry Truman in comparable Gallup-era data.
Broader historical lows: Individual polls have hit the 30s before (Truman bottomed at 22%, Nixon at 24%, Carter in the low 30s), but those were usually later in troubled terms. Sustained sub-40% ratings this early—and the rapid post-honeymoon collapse—are rare. Trump’s net approval among independents in some recent data has been called worse than Nixon’s at the height of Watergate.
Bottom line: Yes, these are historically bad numbers—especially for ~15 months into a second term. They’re not the absolute rock-bottom ever recorded, but they’re the lowest (or near-lowest) modern presidents have been at this equivalent point, lower than Biden or Obama were at the same stage, and a clear reversal from Trump’s strong start in 2025. This has implications for the 2026 midterms, where low presidential approval often hurts the incumbent party. Polls can shift, but the current snapshot is notably weak by any recent historical standard.
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