Donald Trump's presidential transition, Cabinet picks fail to impress most Americans

Donald Trump meets with General James Mattis, his eventual secretary of Defense nominee.

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

With just a week to go before Inauguration Day, a narrow majority of Americans disapprove of the way President-elect Donald Trump is handing his presidential transition, Gallup found. Just 44 percent of people approve, while 51 percent disapprove. By comparison, during a similar window in 2009, 83 percent of people approved of then-President-elect Barack Obama's presidential transition. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also were significantly more approved of during their own transition processes.

Trump's Cabinet decisions have also not impressed many Americans. The majority, at 52 percent, called the picks "average," with 44 percent calling them "below average" or "poor" and 32 percent saying the choices were "above average" or "outstanding."

The poll was conducted from Jan. 4-8 with a sample of 1,032 adults in all 50 states. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.