President Trump's approval rating sinks to 38 percent


President Trump's approval rating has sunk to its lowest level since his inauguration, with just 38 percent of Americans approving of his job as president, Gallup reports. Trump is now 23 points below the historical average for new presidents in mid-February, who are typically approved of by 61 percent of voters. He is also 13 points below the lowest mid-February approval rating for any other president in modern polling history, which was Bill Clinton with 51 percent.
For context: Former President Barack Obama's lowest approval rating in eight years as president was 38 percent, a drop that followed instances such as the 2011 debt ceiling negotiations and downgrading of the U.S. credit rating, or in September 2014, just before the Islamic State released videos of U.S. journalists being beheaded.
Trump's highest approval rating since taking office was 46 percent, on his fourth and fifth day in office. It's all been downhill from there; by Friday, 56 percent of Americans disapproved of the job Trump was doing in office. Gallup's poll reaches 1,500 adults across the nation by telephone, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 points. Jeva Lange
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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.
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