Trump’s favorability rating superseded his unfavorability rating for first time on December 4.
The first week of December, one month after his election, President-elect Donald Trump’s popularity among Americans soared to the highest level of his political career in the RealClearPolitics average, for the first time achieving a net-positive favorability rating.
Trump had never before had more people approve of him than disapprove of him in the RCP average of polls until December 4, when the RCP average showed him with a 49.1% favorability rating and a 47.6% unfavorability rating. Four days later, his favorability rating rose to 49.4%, while the unfavorability rating stayed the same, dipping to 47.4% on December 11.
On July 6, 2015, Trump’s favorability rating was a paltry 22.7% as he started his candidacy. His unfavorability rating stood at a massive 62%, rising to a high of 64.5% in mid-April 2016. But that unfavorability rating nosedived after his election in 2016, descending to 47.8% by New Year’s’ Day 2017, while his favorability rating had risen to 44.5 by mid-December 2016.
Still, Trump’s favorability rating never rose above 45% in the years following his election and during President Joe Biden’s term in office. But starting from a low of 36.8% on December 20, 2022, Trump’s favorability rating started rising sporadically through the ensuing months, yet he was still underwater. He finally broke through the 45% threshold as recently as October 12, 2024, reaching 45.4%. However, his unfavorability rating was still 52%.
On the eve of the November election, the two ratings started to close the gap until Trump’s favorability rating superseded his unfavorability rating on December 4.
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