WASHINGTON — As he prepares to leave office, President Donald Trump's job approval marks are on a downward spiral, led by sinking support among his Republican base, following last week's riot at the Capitol and subsequent impeachment.
In a new poll from the Pew Research Center, only 29% of Americans said they approve of how Trump is handling his job – the lowest of his tumultuous presidency and down 9 percentage points from August. Sixty-eight percent said they disapprove of his job performance.
Driving the decline, only 60% of Republicans and voters who lean Republican approve of Trump's job performance, the poll found, a drop from 77% in August. Trump's positive marks from Democrats – already near rock bottom – dropped one percentage point to 4% from 5%.
Trump exits the White House on Wednesday as President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president. His departure will cap the most tumultuous stretch of a rocky presidency after a mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol last week while Congress was counting electoral votes. The House impeached Trump one week later for inciting an insurrection, making him the first president to be impeached twice.
The poll, conducted Jan. 8 to 12 – one day before Trump's impeachment – surveyed 5,360 U.S. adults, including 4,040 who said they voted in the presidential election.
Throughout his presidency, Trump's job rating has remained relatively stable – never surpassing 45% or dropping below 36% – before the current nosedive.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, two days prior to Trump's impeachment, had similar findings with only 33% of American voters approving of his job performance.
Biden begins presidency with positive views from public
Biden, conversely, will begin his presidency with 64% of Americans expressing a positive opinion of his conduct since winning the election, according to the Pew Research poll. Only 22% of respondents had a favorable opinion of Trump's conduct since the election, while 76% had an unfavorable opinion.
Biden won the election with 51.3% of the popular vote nationally, compared to 46.8% for Trump.
