Trump’s Job Approval is Falling

It’s been 100 days since U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into office and his job approval ratings are at their lowest levels seen so far this term. According to polling data compiled and averaged by the U.S. website RealClearPolitics (RCP), 45.3 percent of U.S. respondents said they approved of the 47th POTUS’s job performance as of April 28, while 52.4 percent said they disapproved of it. RCP averages are calculated based on several polls in order to try and equal out the biases of different survey methods.

As the following chart shows, the balance has shifted since the start of the year, with disapproval having stood at just 44.3 percent as of January 27, while approval was at 50.5 percent. The switch in favor took place around mid-March, with approval ratings falling ever since. While this data alone does not say the reasons behind voters' changing sentiments, the average across multiple polls does show that approval ratings continued to decline after Trump’s announcement of widespread trade tariffs.

The 100th day of presidency has historically been used in the United States as a milestone for stopping to reflect on how the head of state is being perceived by the public. In terms of specific issues, RCP also provides analysis on the U.S. public's Trump approval ratings. In terms of Trump's handling of the economy, the RCP average reports 52.4 percent disapproval and 45.2 percent approval as of April 28. With regard to foreign policy, 54 percent disapproved while 40.5 percent approved on average.