Trump Hits Highest Approval Rating of His Presidency in New Gallup Poll
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has risen to 49 percent, the highest it’s been since he took office, in the midst of his impeachment trial.
The late January Gallup poll also found that 50 percent of voters disapproved of Trump and 1 percent did not have an opinion.
The Republican president’s high approval rating can be attributed to higher approval among Republican and independent voters.
Among Republicans, Trump’s approval rating rose 6 percentage points from early January to 94 percent. Among independents, his approval rating rose 5 points to 42 percent.
His approval among Democrats dropped 3 percentage points to 10 percent, making the gap in approval between Republicans and Democrats the largest Gallup has measured to date.
The latest Gallup poll was conducted during the start of the Senate impeachment trial and found that 52 percent of Americans were in favor of acquitting Trump while 46 percent were in favor of removing him from office.
From @Gallup ‘Trump Job Approval at Personal Best 49%.’ Poll taken during Senate trial. Up 10 points in Gallup since Ukraine mania in October. https://t.co/EOuGGXMQxd pic.twitter.com/Zh8CTvEFIr
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 4, 2020
This trend is similar to what Gallup observed during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. Clinton’s approval rating jumped to 73 percent after the House impeachment vote in 1998.
Gallup also attributed Trump’s high approval rating to Americans’ support of actions by the president. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they approved of recent U.S. military action in Iran.
On Jan. 3, Trump launched a drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Although he was criticized for not consulting Congress before launching the attack, Gallup found that only 45 percent of respondents disapproved of the action.
While the poll was conducted, Trump also signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is slated to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
The trade deal passed in the Senate on Jan. 16 with an 89-10 vote and sailed through the House in December with a 385-41 vote.
Gallup also found that Americans have high confidence in the economy, with 63 percent approving of the way Trump is handling the economy, the highest economic approval rating for any president since President George W. Bush.
Although Trump’s approval rating record could positively affect his re-election campaign, registered voters are divided 50 percent whether he should be re-elected.
According to the Gallup survey, 39 percent of respondents said they would vote for Trump and 36 percent said they would vote against Trump no matter who the Democratic nominee is.
Another 24 percent of voters said they are waiting to see who the Democratic nominee is.
The Gallup poll was conducted from Jan. 16-29 with a margin of error of 4 percent.
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