Donald Trump doesn’t have the ‘highest poll numbers’ of his career. They’re near his lowest
If your time is short
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Eight widely followed poll aggregators show that President Donald Trump notched his strongest approval ratings, and his smallest disapproval ratings, in January at the beginning of his second term.
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Since then, his approval ratings have gone downhill.
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Trump’s current approval and disapproval ratings are the worst of his second term and within a few percentage points of his first term’s weakest showing.
Is President Donald Trump more popular than ever? He says so.
“I have just gotten the highest poll numbers of my ‘political career,’” he said in a Nov. 22 Truth Social post.
Trump’s assertion is inaccurate: Publicly available polling data shows his approval rating at or near its all-time low, not its all-time high.
The White House did not respond to an inquiry for this article.
Poll aggregators all show Trump at a weak point
Polling analysts say the best way to get a snapshot of survey results is to look at aggregations — collections of publicly released polls that average the most recent. A single poll might be an outlier, but averages of all polls decrease the influence of outlier polls.
Aggregators’ methods differ, but generally they give the greatest weight to the most recent polls. Many also give greater weight to polls with more accurate track records, and some exclude polls that do not provide sufficient transparency about their methodology.
There are eight commonly used aggregators: Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin; FiftyPlusOne; Decision Desk HQ; RealClearPolitics, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter; The New York Times; Votehub; and RacetotheWH.
Every one of these poll aggregators show Trump’s approval rating has tumbled since the beginning of his second term in January, mirrored by a steady rise in his disapproval rating.
Each of the poll aggregators show Trump’s approval rating in positive territory in January, flipping to even approval-disapproval ratings sometime in March. Since then, his disapproval ratings have exceeded approvals by generally increasing amounts.
Our Sources
Donald Trump, Truth Social post, Nov. 22, 2025
Poll aggregators: Silver Bulletin (Nate Silver); FiftyPlusOne (G. Elliott Morris); Decision Desk HQ; RealClearPolitics, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter; The New York Times; Votehub; RacetotheWH, accessed Nov. 24, 2025
PolitiFact, "No recent public poll shows Kamala Harris with ‘great approval ratings,’" Aug. 8, 2023
Email interview with Geoffrey Skelley, chief elections analyst for Decision Desk HQ, Nov. 24, 2025
Email interview with Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Nov. 24, 2025