On the last full day of the Obama presidency and on the eve of President-Elect Trump’s inauguration, let’s look at where the new President starts in the public’s estimation. The answer is, Trump is really unpopular and has gotten more unpopular as the transition has gone on.
We have some new numbers.
CNN: 40%
Gallup: 44%
ABC/WAPO: 37%
Quinnipiac: 37%
CBS: 37%
These are dramatically lower numbers than any president in modern polling history. For benchmarks, CNN had Obama at 84% approval, Clinton 67% and Bush at 61% at inauguration. The best comparison here is probably to Bush who lost the popular vote and won in a highly controversial way. Much of what would have been the transition period was eaten up by the recount. Even here, Bush is 20 points higher than Trump.
