President-elect Donald Trump now holds a 46 percent approval rating according to a new poll from Politico and Morning Consult. The poll also found that 34 percent of those surveyed have a "very unfavorable" opinion of Trump, with 12 percent saying they have a "somewhat favorable" opinion of the incoming president, meaning the approval rating and disapproval rating are tied at 46 percent each.
According to Politico, Trump's approval rating is up 9 points from 37 percent according to a Morning Consult poll conducted just before the election.
Co-founder and Chief Research Officer of Morning Consult Kyle Dropp told Politico that a rise in popularity is common after presidents get elected. "This honeymoon phase is common for new presidents," Dropp said. For example, Obama saw about a 20 point swing in his favor following the 2008 election."
Politico also reports that more than 50 percent of those surveyed did not know who Steve Bannon (Counselor to the President), Reince Priebus (White House Chief of Staff), and Jeff Sessions (nominated by Trump as attorney general pending Senate approval) were, or had no opinion of them. Despite the lack of familiarity with the present make-up of Trump's cabinet, 19 percent of those surveyed said Trump's transition is more organized than the past presidency, and 34 percent have said it's the same.
While Trump is enjoying positive numbers (as much as tied approval and disapproval ratings with approval being under 50 percent can be considered positive), President Obama has also seen an uptick in his popularity ratings, according to Politico.
Prior to the election, president Obama had a 50 percent approval rating, but was recently polled at 54 percent approval, 43 percent disapproval among those polled. The president was harshly critical of Trump while supporting Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, but has since significantly softened his public opinion on Trump, saying Americans should "wait and see" how Trump performs as president.
