Biden's favorability rating jumped 6 points since the election, is already higher than Trump ever hit


President-elect Joe Biden has seen a 6 percentage point jump in his favorability rating since the Nov. 3 election, with 55 percent of U.S. adults viewing him favorably, Gallup reported Monday. President Trump, whose Gallup favorability rating peaked at 49 percent in April, lost 3 points since Election Day, now clocking in at 42 percent. This is Biden's highest Gallup rating since February 2019, before he entered the presidential race. His jump in favorability was fueled by a 6-point bump among Republicans, to 12 percent, and a 7-point jump among independents, to 55 percent.
Trump's post-election slump was also powered by a 6-point drop among Republicans, to 89 percent. Biden's jump in popularity is pretty normal for presidents-elect. "Since 2000, the winning presidential candidate's favorability ratings have increased slightly after the election," Gallup explained. "Additionally, since 2000, the winner's postelection favorability reached the majority level in every election except 2016, when Trump was the most personally unpopular presidential candidate in Gallup polling history."
Trump's 2020 dip is less normal; Republican candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain saw their favorability ratings jump 4 points and 14 points, respectively, after losing to President Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton's rating was unchanged after the 2016 election.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Gallup also found that Americans view the Democratic Party and Republican Party with roughly the same level of favor — 45 percent like Democrats, 43 percent approve of the GOP — though among independents, 41 percent view Democrats favorably and 33 percent see Republicans in a positive light.
Gallup conducted its survey Nov. 5-19 among a random sample of 1,018 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the margin of sampling error is ± 4 percentage points.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'The answer isn't to shake faith in the dollar'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
The Week Junior Book Awards 2025 Shortlist Announced
The Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled the 2025 shortlist, celebrating the best in children’s literature across 13 categories.
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency