In polarised America, 41% of Americans have favourable view of Trump, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A total of 55 per cent of respondents in a three-day poll viewed Donald Trump unfavourably, as his Jan 20 inauguration approaches.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - About two in five Americans view US President-elect Donald Trump favourably, fewer than when the Republican was on the cusp of his first presidential term, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
Some 41 per cent of respondents in the three-day poll, which closed on Dec 15, said they viewed Trump favourably, while 55 per cent viewed him unfavourably as his Jan 20 inauguration nears.
That was down from Trump’s 51 per cent favourability rating in December 2016 after his stunning victory in that year’s election, even though for months he had garnered ratings of around 40 per cent. The post-election boost carried into the initial months of his 2017-2021 term.
The absence of a bounce in 2024 – his favourability ratings have hovered around 40 per cent in recent months – could point to deepening political polarisation between Republicans and Democrats. In December 2016, about a quarter of Democrats viewed Trump favourably. This month, only about one in 10 did so.
Early in Trump’s first term, his presidential job approval ratings reached a high of 48 per cent in Reuters/Ipsos surveys conducted between February and April 2017.
By mid-2017, amid accusations that Trump mishandled classified documents and pressured a top law enforcement official to stop probing his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, the Republican’s approval ratings fell to around 40 per cent and largely stayed there for the rest of his term.
Current President Joe Biden entered office in 2021 with a 55 per cent approval rating, but the Democrat’s popularity has also slipped, hovering close to 40 per cent since early 2022 following a chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan and as consumer prices surged.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Dec 15 showed approval of Mr Biden at 38 per cent, just above the lowest level of his term, 35 per cent, in October.
Trump’s lowest approval rating during his first presidential term was 33 per cent in December 2017.
The latest poll, conducted online and nationwide, gathered responses from 1,031 US adults, with a margin of error of about 3 percentage points. REUTERS
