President-elect Donald Trump’s approval rating is now more than 20 points higher than when he left the White House in early 2021.
A majority of Americans now approve of the work Trump is doing as he makes his unorthodox cabinet picks, such as nominating former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general and Fox & Friends weekend host Pete Hegseth to be his secretary of defense.
The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 54 percent approve of Trump, while 40 percent disapprove. Ninety-one percent of Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance, while 49 percent of independents and 22 percent of Democrats said the same.
Among Democrats, nearly three-quarters said they disapproved. The same was true for around 40 percent of independents.
Trump’s final approval rating as president in January 2021 was 29 percent in a Pew Research Center poll.
Trump will be sworn in as president on January 20, 2025. He has also nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as his ambassador to the U.N. On Tuesday, Trump nominated celebrity doctor and former Republican Pennsylvania senate nominee Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
A majority of those aged 18-54 approve of the president-elect’s job performance, and more 55-to-64-year-olds approve than disapprove. A small majority of those older than 65 disapprove of Trump.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s approval rating stands at 42 percent.
Trump never reached 50 percent approval in Gallup surveys during his time in office, with his highest rating being 49 percent.
“It’s a good start he is above 50 in job approval so far — it will be important for him to stay above that level to govern effectively,” pollster Mark Penn said, according to The Hill.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, a collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll, was conducted between November 13 and 14 and included 1,732 registered voters, with a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
The Republicans have taken control of both chambers of Congress with narrow majorities, particularly in the House. The GOP saw its popularity rise slightly, with its approval rating going from 46 percent in October to 49 percent this month.
The approval rating for the Democratic Party went from 47 to 44 percent during the same timeframe. Slightly more than a quarter said the U.S. is on the right track, a drop of four points compared to October.
Fifty-three percent said Trump should still face trial on the charges brought against him, with 47 percent saying that they should be dismissed. New York Judge Juan Merchan is looking at whether to dismiss Trump’s conviction in his hush-money case or delay the sentencing currently scheduled for next week. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The office of the Manhattan District Attorney said Tuesday that it’s against dismissal but remained open to pausing the case until Trump is out of office.
Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith is looking at how to wind down the federal investigations into the incoming president.
A small majority said in the poll that Trump is attempting to unite the country. Slightly fewer said Trump is a threat to democracy.
