Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump’s approval ratings are lower than those of most of his predecessors at the same point in their first terms.
As of July 19, one day before official hitting the six month mark, Trump’s approval ratings were at 36% and his disapproval ratings were at 59%, according to the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll. He averaged a 39% approval rating from July 10 through July 16. The poll’s margin of error is three percentage points.
By comparison, Barack Obama averaged a 59% approval rating during roughly the same portion of his first term. George W. Bush averaged 56%. George H.W. Bush averaged 66%, Ronald Reagan averaged 60%, Jimmy Carter 67%, Richard Nixon 58%, Lyndon Johnson 74%, John F. Kennedy 75%, Dwight Eisenhower 73%, and Harry Truman 82%.
Besides Trump, the only Presidents with approval ratings below 55% six months in were Gerald Ford, who averaged 39%, and Bill Clinton, who averaged 41%.
The poll provides approval ratings dating back to the Truman Administration.
The time frames referred to here differ slightly due to variations in when the polling was conducted. However, they all fall within a week of the respective President’s six-month mark, with the exception of George H.W. Bush, whose ratings were recorded within two weeks of that mark.