Trump Is Now The Most Hated President After 100 Days In US History

Donald Trump has become the least popular president in US history at the 100 day mark of his term.

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Presidential success and failure can be defined using many metrics. Policy accomplishments, such as legislation passed, have been traditionally used to measure presidential success.

Presidents derive their power in terms of being able to move Congress and the nation through the bully pulpit, which is driven by public support. A president with lots of public support and popularity has a much easier time in office than one who does not.

The tradition of measuring a president's performance after their first 100 days dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

To compare any president to FDR is both difficult and unfair. Roosevelt’s sweeping level of accomplishment after taking office during the Great Depression will likely never be met or exceeded, especially due to the fractured and polarized nature of American politics, but there has never been a president who has been as unpopular as they approach their 100 day mark in office as the the second term of Donald J. Trump.

The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll sums it up nicely:

Trump’s overall approval rating is lower than it was only two months ago. The poll shows that 39 percent of adult Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job, compared with 55 percent who disapprove, including 44 percent who disapprove strongly.

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Trump’s approval rating is lower than for any past president at the 100-day mark in their first or second terms. At a similar point in their first terms as president, 42 percent approved of Trump and 52 percent approved of President Joe Biden. Most presidents enjoy a honeymoon during their first months in office, only to see their ratings decline later in the first year.

The last sentence is the important piece of information. Presidents usually decline later in their first year, so a president who starts out at 39% at the 100-day mark still has more room to fall.

Trump’s approval ratings are so bad that he broke his own record for being the least popular president at the 100-day mark by 3 points. Trump’s 100-day approval rating is 30 points lower than Barack Obama’s. His approval rating is 24 points lower than George W. Bush's. Trump tries to pretend like he is the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan, but his approval rating is 44 points worse than Reagan’s. Trump is 23 points worse than Richard Nixon, and 48 points worse than Harry Truman.

Donald Trump Is The Most Hated President In American History After 100 Days