Nearing the end of his impeachment trial and on the eve of his third State of the Union address, President Trump’s job approval rating in the latest Gallup poll hit its highest level since he took office: 49 percent, compared with 50 percent of respondents who disapprove.
The survey, released Tuesday, showed a gain of 4 percentage points in Trump’s approval since early January. It also was 3 points over his previous high-water mark of 46 percent in late April 2019, around the time special counsel Robert Mueller’s report was released.
When Trump took office in 2017, his approval rating was 45 percent. It has hit a low of 35 percent three times, all during his first year in office.
Trump’s latest approval bump appears to have been driven by higher ratings among Republicans (94 percent, up 6 percentage points from the previous poll) and independents (42 percent, up 5 points). It also probably reflects Americans’ confidence in the economy, which according to Gallup is higher than at any point in the past two decades.
Additionally, Gallup’s pollsters noted that more Americans approved (53 percent) than disapproved (45 percent) of Trump’s controversial decision to launch the U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander.
The poll was conducted Jan. 16-29, during the president’s Senate impeachment trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the charges Wednesday, and Trump’s acquittal is considered almost certain.
The survey found that 52 percent of Americans would support his acquittal by the Senate, compared with 46 percent who want him convicted and removed from office.
- Dylan Stableford, Yahoo News
