How Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Stands After 100 Days (2025)

National

By Martha McHardy Newsweek

Updated April 29, 2025 11:03 AM

How Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Stands After 100 Days (1)

After 100 days in office, Donald Trump's approval rating stands at 44 percent, with his disapproval at 54 percent, giving the president a net approval rating of -10 points, according to Newsweek's tracker.

That is his net lowest approval rating so far since beginning his second term.

Why It Matters

Measuring a president after 100 days is a tradition that began during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term in the 1930s and has since become a symbolic milestone that offers a snapshot of a president's early momentum, public perception, and political capital.

What The Polls Say About Donald Trump

Recent polls have shown Trump's approval rating at a historic low. The latest CNN/SSRS poll, conducted between April 17-24 among 1,678 adults found that 41 percent currently approve of the president's job performance, while 59 percent disapprove.

That is the lowest approval rating for any newly elected president at 100 days dating back at least to Dwight Eisenhower – including Trump's own first term, according to CNN.

How Americans Rate Trump On The Economy

Trump's approval ratings have been sinking since he introduced new "Liberation Day" tariffs, which saw the markets crash, before they rebounded days later.

But Trump's management of the situation has left voters feeling uneasy, with fears of inflation or a possible recession on the rise.

In a New York Times/Siena College poll, which was conducted April 21 to 24 and published on Friday, 50 percent of participants said the president has made the economy worse since taking office three months ago, while 21 percent said the economy was better, and 27 percent found it about the same.

When asked if Trump's economic changes have been a "good thing for the country or a bad thing," 50 percent said bad, while 36 percent said good and 10 percent said neither good nor bad.

In terms of voter approval of Trump's handling of the economy, 42 percent approve, with 24 percent strongly approving and 18 percent somewhat approving, while 55 percent disapprove, 42 percent strongly and 13 percent somewhat.

Just over three-fourths of participants, 76 percent, described the economy as fair or poor, while 22 percent rated it as excellent or good. Among those who gave the economy a poor rating, 52 percent had voted for Trump in the 2024 election.

Americans' picture of the economy wasn't much better for Trump in an AP-NORC poll that was conducted between April 12 and 21 and published on Saturday. The poll found only 37 percent approved of Trump's handling of the economy.

Fox News' poll also showed a notable downturn. In March, Trump held a 43 percent approval rating on the economy. That number has since slipped to 38 percent, while disapproval remains significant at 56 percent. And in the latest poll, his rating was also worse on inflation (33 percent approve, 59 percent disapprove). That is down from 40 percent approval in March and 58 percent disapproval.

Meanwhile, 72 percent are now "very" or "extremely" worried about the economy entering a recession this year.

But polls show that Democrats and Republicans view Trump's handling of the economy very differently, with 72 percent of Republicans backing Trump's economic policy in the AP-NORC poll, and 12 percent of Democrats approving of it.

How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to First Term

Since beginning his second term, Trump has consistently had better poll numbers than during his first term. But polls show his approval rating is now falling amid economic anxiety and fears of a recession.

According to Fox News' poll, Trump's approval rating is down 1 point from his 45 percent approval at this point eight years ago. According to CNN's polling, which shows 41 percent approve of his performance, Trump is also less popular now than he was at the same point in his first term, when his approval rating sat at 44 percent.

Meanwhile, in the latest Pew Research Center poll, conducted between April 7-13 among 3,589 respondents, Trump's net approval sat at -19 points, with 40 percent approving and 59 percent disapproving.

That puts him on par with his first term, when his approval rating sat at 40 percent at the same point.

"He has broken his own record for being the worst, the American people do not like what they are seeing at this point from Donald John Trump," CNN pollster Harry Enten said.

However, Trump's 44 percent approval rating in Newsweek's tracker is slightly better than that of his first term, when 43 percent approved of his job performance, and 52 percent disapproved, according to RealClearPolitics.

How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to Joe Biden's

Trump's 44 percent approval rating is substantially lower than Joe Biden's at the same point during his term.

According to RealClearPolitics, on this day in 2021, Biden's approval rating stood at 54 percent, while 43 percent disapproved.

How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to Other Past Presidents

Joe Biden is not the only president who was more popular than Trump.

While Trump began his second term with higher approval ratings than ever before, according to Gallup's first poll of Trump's second term, conducted between January 21 and 27, he was still less popular than any president since 1953 at the start of a term and the only one to begin with a sub-50 percent approval rating. Gallup said Biden began his first term with a 57 percent approval rating.

Three months later, the most recent Fox News and CNN polls show that Trump is still less popular than every president dating back to Dwight Eisenhower at the 100 day mark.

And according to data compiled from Gallup by The American Presidency Project, Trump ranks far below other recently elected presidents after 100 days, dating back to Eisenhower, who had an approval rating of 73 percent.

Other elected presidents enjoyed solid support from the American public just over three months into their terms: John F. Kennedy 83 percent; Richard Nixon 62 percent; Jimmy Carter 63 percent; Ronald Reagan 68 percent; George H.W. Bush 56 percent; Bill Clinton 55 percent; George W. Bush 62 percent; and Barack Obama 65 percent.

What Happens Next

Trump's approval rating could fluctuate in the coming weeks, depending on the outcome of key events, including critical negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war, the evolving tariff situation and concerns about a recession.

Whilst polls show Americans are worried about the economy, the full impact of Trump's tariff strategy - be it positive or negative - may not become clear for a long time.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 6:49 AM.