Joe Biden’s Average Approval Compared to Donald Trump Compared: Poll

President Joe Biden’s average approval rating was one point higher than President-elect Donald Trump’s approval during his first term, according to Gallup.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team and the White House for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Biden and Trump have been political rivals for the past five years, ever since the 2020 presidential race, when Biden defeated Trump. The 2024 presidential race appeared to be a rematch until Biden dropped out last summer amid concerns from many Democrats that he would be unable to win. Instead, Trump faced off against Vice President Kamala Harris, beating her in November.

Democrats have spent the months post-election analyzing what went wrong in the presidential race. Analysis of Biden’s approval, which never recovered after dropping in mid-2021, will be a key question they seek to address over the next few years as they determine how to reshape the party ahead of the 2026 midterms.

What to Know

Biden and Trump had the two lowest average approval ratings of all post-World War II presidents, according to Gallup’s average of their approval rating surveys.

Biden averaged an approval of 42.2 percent, while Trump’s average was 41.1 percent, Gallup found. Biden’s final Gallup approval rating (40 percent) was also higher than Trump’s final approval (34 percent).

Meanwhile, 538’s polling aggregate on Friday showed Biden with a 37.1 percent approval rating, slightly lower than Trump’s final average rating of 38.6 percent.

The poll’s average showed Biden went underwater in September 2021 and never recovered, largely due to concerns about inflation. Trump had a shorter honeymoon period in 2017, with his approval dropping into the negatives in early February.

Trump’s approval fell to its lowest point after the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol building, when a group of his supporters violently protested the election results. Biden’s approval also reached its lowest point in the final days of his presidency in FiveThirtyEight’s average.

Gallup found Biden’s approval rating was lowest in July 2024 after his debate performance, which sparked questions about whether he was mentally fit to serve another term.

How Do Other Presidents Stack Up?

Former President John F. Kennedy had the highest average approval rating at 70 percent, Gallup found. He was followed by Dwight Eisenhower (65 percent), George H.W. Push (61 percent) and Bill Clinton (55 percent).

Former President Barack Obama, who preceded Trump in office, had an average approval of 48 percent, while former President George W. Bush’s average approval was 49 percent, Gallup found.

What People Are Saying

Gallup’s Jeffrey Jones in a poll write-up: “For some presidents—particularly Nixon, Reagan and Obama—how Americans think they will be viewed historically is more aligned with their last job approval rating than with their average term rating. This suggests that the initially poor retrospective evaluation of Biden’s presidency may improve and exceed those of some other presidents in the future.”

Veteran Democratic Strategist David Axelrod on CNN January 8: “This was a judgment, fairly or not, on the Biden administration…We know what polling was on Election Day, and JB had a 40 percent approval rating. I don’t think there’s been a president who won reelection with an approval rating that low.”

What Happens Next

Trump is set to be inaugurated on Monday, January 20.